ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Cybercrime

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Attorney-General with reference to the answer of 19 March 2012, Official Report, column 437W, on cybercrime: prosecutions, whether his Department has changed its policy on the collection of statistics on prosecutions related to cybercrime.

Oliver Heald: No. Departmental policies concerning the collection of prosecutions data relating to cybercrime remain unchanged.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Community Infrastructure Levy

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the extra resources required by the Planning Inspectorate to deal with (a) consideration of draft Community Infrastructure Levy charging schedules, (b) the examination of local plans and (c) the work of the Infrastructure Planning Commission.

Nicholas Boles: Full details of the Planning Inspectorate's resource usage for 2011-12, and its projected full time equivalent resource usage for 2012-13 and 2013-14 (as projected during the Inspectorate's most recent business planning) can be seen in the following table for the work types in question; this table refers to full-time equivalent resources for each work type:
	
		
			 Full-time equivalents 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 
			 Community Infrastructure Levy 1.1 3.1 4.5 
			 Local Plans 27.8 28.4 29.6 
			 National Infrastructure (1)52 87.8 134.1 
			 (1) For 2011-12 these staff were in the Infrastructure Planning Commission The increase in national infrastructure work is a reflection of the increase in applications to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (2011-12) and the Planning Inspectorate (2012-13 onwards) as a consequence of the Planning Act 2008.

Council Tax Benefits: Liverpool

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people in Liverpool are in receipt of council tax benefit; what assessment he has made of the effect that the introduction of the council tax support scheme will have on that number; and what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the introduction of the council tax support scheme on Liverpool City Council's budget.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Work and Pensions' report that in May 2012 there were 75,780 recipients of council tax benefit in Liverpool.(1)
	Localisation of council tax support gives local authorities a direct stake in helping local people into work and out of the cycle of benefits dependency. It is in the hands of Liverpool city council to design a local council tax reduction scheme that best suits their community. Councils have choices about how to manage the reduction in funding, including managing the costs across other budgets, using flexibilities over council tax, driving down fraud and error and finding efficiencies.
	Spending on council tax benefit doubled under the last Administration and welfare reform is vital to tackle the deficit that this Government has inherited.
	(1) http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asdl/hb_ctb/hbctb_release_aug12.xls

Council Tax: Graduates

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  if he will bring forward proposals to exempt graduates from paying council tax in the interim period between completing their undergraduate course and starting their postgraduate course;
	(2)  if he will consider taking steps to support postgraduate students who are liable to pay council tax arrears accrued between finishing their undergraduate course and starting their postgraduate course.

Brandon Lewis: The Government has no plans to review the long-standing council tax student disregard. The administration of council tax, including decisions regarding liability in individual cases based on personal circumstances, is for billing authorities. In order to be disregarded from council tax, a full-time student must be undergoing a full-time course of education with a prescribed educational establishment.
	Full-time students are not eligible for benefits. By contrast, an individual who was no longer a full-time student may be eligible to claim benefits and should contact his or her council for further information.

Homelessness

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what formula basis the homelessness prevention grant for 2013-14 and 2014-15 has been made to (a) all local authorities and (b) local authorities in Surrey.

Don Foster: The baseline funding level for each authority was set according to need at the outset of the Homelessness Prevention Grant scheme and a number of top-ups and tariffs have been used to ensure funding follows need (for example, adjustments have been made to meet peaks in youth homelessness and rough sleeping). There are minimum funding floors—£400,000 in London and £50,000 in the rest of the country. There have also been adjustments to take into account the new funding mechanisms for court desks (where authorities had previously received funding through a baseline uplift the funding will now be going through the Legal Services Commission) and the better use of housing stock grants (which were rolled into Homelessness Prevention Grant totals last year and will be allocated separately in 2013-14 and 2014-15—the funding mechanism will be announced shortly).
	The allocation method has not changed as a result of the decision to roll the funding into the Business Rate Retention Scheme and the Surrey allocations were made on the same basis as the rest of England.

Housing: Construction

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department holds a copy of the Glenigan database.

Mark Prisk: DCLG does not hold a copy of the Glenigan database. I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 25 October 2012, Official Report, column 996W.

Planning Permission

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 23 October 2012, Official Report, column 774W, on planning permission, whether his Department has decided when it will publish its consultation on the temporary extension of permitted development rights;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the number of additional extensions that will be brought forward in each local authority as a result of the relaxation of permitted development rights;
	(3)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect on local authorities in England of ensuring compliance with building regulations in extensions built as a result of the forthcoming relaxation of permitted development rights; what estimate he has made of the cost of enforcing compliance with building regulations for home improvements made as a result of the forthcoming relaxation of permitted development rights; and what estimate he has made of the loss of resources to local authorities as a result of relaxed permitted development rights for local authorities in England.

Nicholas Boles: I refer the hon. Member to the consultation paper, ‘Extending Permitted Development Rights for Homeowners and Businesses’, issued on 12 November 2012, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

Service Charges

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what safeguards his Department has put in place to ensure that agents do not apply excessive mark-ups and charges for seller's packs.

Don Foster: We have cut the cost of moving home by abolishing the requirement to commission a home information pack, which were suspended from 21 May 2010 and have now been removed from the statute book.

Sleeping Rough

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2012, Official Report, columns 143-44W, on homelessness, 
	(1)  who took the decision to change the methodology for calculating the number of rough sleepers;
	(2)  on what day in 2010 the methodology for calculating the number of rough sleepers was changed.

Mark Prisk: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 26 October 2012, Official Report, column 1085W, and 22 November 2011, Official Report, column 229W.
	The next set of figures will be published in February 2013.

Sleeping Rough

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in rough sleeping between autumn 2010 and autumn 2011;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the reasons for the reduction in the number of rough sleepers in the North East between autumn 2010 and autumn 2011;
	(3)  when he plans to publish the statistics for the autumn 2012 review of rough sleeping by region.

Mark Prisk: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 26 October 2012, Official Report, column 1085W. The next set of figures will be published in February 2013.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of written parliamentary questions to his Department received holding responses in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Brandon Lewis: 247 (36%) of the 680 named day questions tabled between 1 October 2011 and 30 September 2012 were initially answered with a holding reply.
	The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the current session. Statistics relating to Government Department's performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary session are available on the Parliament website at:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_ Monitoring_PQs.pdf

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

BBC Northern Ireland

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  if she will hold discussions with the BBC Trust on steps to encourage the BBC to invest more in productions in Northern Ireland;
	(2)  if she will hold discussions with the BBC Trust on steps to ensure that programmes labelled BBC Northern Ireland provide opportunities for performers living in Northern Ireland.

Edward Vaizey: A strategy, agreed by the BBC Trust, is in place to increase regional production so that 50% of network TV spend falls outside London by 2016, including 17% from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The BBC has made significant progress in delivering these commitments. Last year, 16.3% of network TV programming was made in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Building on this progress, plans are in place to consolidate network production centres across the UK during the second half of the Charter period. The creative sector in Northern Ireland will benefit from increased BBC network investment; a key objective is to ensure that this also improves UK-wide portrayal of the range of life in Northern Ireland, including the use of local talent.

Operating Costs

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the administration costs of her Department were in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011; and what estimate she has made of the likely costs in (i) 2012, (ii) 2013, (iii) 2014 and (iv) 2015.

Hugh Robertson: holding answer 8 November 2012
	The following table sets out the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's administration costs, including depreciation, for the financial years from 2010 to 2015. The Department has been working to reduce its inflation adjusted administration costs (excluding depreciation) by 50% from the start of the spending review in 2010-11 to the end of the period in 2014-15. The increase in 2011-12 and 2012-13 reflects the spend required to deliver the broadband strategy and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, both of which will decline from 2013-14. It also includes spend on information economy, broadband and spectrum policy functions transferred from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills from 2011-12, which have increased this Department's cost base.
	The budgetary transfer of responsibility for the Government Equalities Office from the Home Office to the Department, as announced in September 2012, has not yet been formalised; therefore the related budgets have not been included in the figures provided.
	
		
			  Administration budget (£ million) 
			 2010-11 (1)49.852 
			 2011-12 (2)54.569 
			 2012-13 (3)61.195 
			 2013-14 (3)8.694 
		
	
	
		
			 2014-15 (3)37.124 
			 (1) Outturn (2) Forecast outturn (3) Current plans

Operating Costs

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the staffing budget of her Department was in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; and what she expects it to be in (i) 2013, (ii) 2014 and (iii) 2015.

Hugh Robertson: holding answer 8 November 2012
	The following table sets out the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's staffing budgets for the financial years 2010-11 to 2012-13 and current plans for staffing budgets in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
	The budgetary transfer of responsibility for the Government Equalities Office from the Home Office to the Department, as announced in September 2012, has not yet been formalised; therefore, the related staffing budgets are not included.
	
		
			  Staffing budget (£ million) 
			 2010-11 (1)30.412 
			 2011-12 (2)31.078 
			 2012-13 (2)36.681 
			 2013-14 (3)20.010 
			 2014-15 (3)20.270 
			 (1) Final outturn (2) Forecast outturn (3) Current plans 
		
	
	The Department has been working to reduce its inflation-adjusted administration costs (excluding depreciation) by 50% from the start of the spending review in 2010-11 to the end of the period in 2014-15, while keeping staff reductions to the minimum. The increase in 2011-12 and 2012-13 reflects:
	staffing costs required to deliver the broadband project and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, both of which will decline from 2013-14;
	staffing costs on information economy, broadband and spectrum policy functions transferred from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as from 2011-12, which have increased this Department's cost base;
	restructuring costs from 2010-11 that have risen through to 2012-13, all of which have been necessary to reduce the Department's staff costs in subsequent years.

Telephone Services: Unsolicited Goods and Services

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether her Department has considered taking steps to ensure that cold calls are not made to elderly and vulnerable people by banks, energy companies, legal firms and companies involved in payment protection insurance.

Edward Vaizey: Consumers, including the elderly and vulnerable, are protected from unsolicited calls through the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) 2003, which require that calls should not be made to a recipient if they are either registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), or have previously advised the caller that they do not wish to receive such calls. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has responsibility for considering complaints and can take formal action against a breach of the regulations. Ultimately, it can issue a fine of up to £500,000 for the most serious breaches. The ICO works closely with the Office of Communications (Ofcom) and the Claims Management Regulator (CMR), which regulate financial companies, to identify those responsible for making such calls. Also, the ICO has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the CMR, to facilitate the sharing of information about breaches of the PECR by claims management companies.
	I have met with the ICO, Ofcom and TPS and further measures have been introduced that will help to provide more effective protection for consumers. The ICO has increased the resources devoted to enforcement of PECR, and on 1 October 2012, announced its intention to issue fines totalling over £250,000 to two marketers responsible for distributing millions of spam texts. The ICO also intends to publish on its website a list of the most complained about companies that make calls to TPS registered consumers. If the companies fail to remedy their actions, they could face further enforcement action.
	Also, to improve access to information for complaints, on 1 October 2012 Ofcom set up a new web page providing clearer advice on nuisance calls, texts and emails:
	http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/tell-us/telecoms/privacy
	It has also published a new Consumer Guide, which provides clearer information and signposts the correct place to make a complaint:
	http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2012/10/tackling-nuisance-calls-and-messages

Video Games: Advertising

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if she will ask the Advertising Standards Authority to consider taking steps to clarify the commercial intent of video games used to advertise a product to young people and their parents in relation to the marketing of high fat, sugar or salt foods to children.

Edward Vaizey: Non-broadcast advertising in the UK is controlled through a system of self-regulation. The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) is the body responsible for writing and maintaining the UK Code of Non Broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (the CAP Code), which is administered by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). This regulatory system is independent of Government and is ultimately responsible for setting the standards in advertising, including computer/video in-game advertising.
	In May this year CAP issued updated advergames guidance to industry. This confirmed that advergames—electronic games that are used to advertise a product, brand or an organisation—fall within the ASA's remit, are subject to the rules of CAP Code, and that the advertising intent of advergames must be clear to users. The CAP Code includes clear conditions about the advertising of foods which prevent advertisements from encouraging of poor nutritional habits or an unhealthy lifestyle in children.
	The ASA continues to conduct monitoring and research on a range of advertising issues as part of its responsibility for ensuring that the advertising codes continue to provide suitable consumer protection.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate Change: China

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the potential for developing a low-carbon strategic partnership between China and the (a) UK and (b) EU; and if he will bring forward proposals to develop joint standards within the manufacturing and industrial sectors as part of such a partnership.

Gregory Barker: Developing low-carbon strategic partnerships with China at UK and EU levels is an important element of the Government's strategy for working with China on climate change and low-carbon. The UK supports the EU-China Partnership on climate change which was established in 2005 and provides a high-level political framework for collaboration: and the UK has memoranda of understanding with China on climate change and low-carbon cooperation which frame our bilateral relations in these areas. These partnerships cover a range of policy areas and we will be working with Chinese colleagues to build on the existing collaboration in the future, this could include work on standards.

Climate Change: China

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of steps taken within China at (a) national and (b) provincial level to address climate change.

Gregory Barker: China has seen continued strong economic growth and a continued rise in its emissions. However, it has been taking action to meet its pledge made to the UNFCCC to reduce its carbon intensity by 40-45% on 2005 levels by 2020.
	China's 12th five year plan (FYP) includes targets to reduce energy intensity by 16% and carbon intensity by 17% alongside a target to increase non-fossil fuel use to 11.4% by 2015 and 15% in 2020. It is making progress towards these targets. In addition, earlier this year, the National Energy Administration announced targets for renewable power generation under the 12th FYP, including an increase in China's renewable energy power capacity by 167GW by 2015 (an increase of 68% from 2010) at a cost of 1.8 trillion RMB (£180 billion).
	Last month, the Chinese Government announced targets for the development of nuclear power, aiming for an installed nuclear capacity of 40GW in operation and 20GW under construction by 2015, up from the current 12.5GW in operation and 27.6GW under construction. The Nuclear Development plan also sets new targets for 2020: 58GW of nuclear installed capacity, with another 30GW under construction.
	At regional level the 5 year plan identified a set of “Low-carbon pilot provinces” which cover eight major cities and five provinces with over 350 million people. The low carbon pilots are acting as a testing ground for a range of policies that will help both deliver the targets in the current 5 year plan and inform the next one. In particular, three of the low carbon pilot zones are piloting regional emissions trading systems, with the one in Guangdong officially launched in September this year.

Electricity Generation

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 22 October 2012, Official Report, columns 604-6W, on electricity generation, what the current and future total system costs of electricity generation per MWh by (a) nuclear, (b) onshore wind, (c) offshore wind, (d) solar PV, (e) tidal, (f) biomass, (g) coal fired, (h) open cycle gas turbine and (i) combined gas turbine systems will be.

John Hayes: As stated in the answer of 22 October 2012, Official Report, columns 604-6W, total power sector system costs are largely driven by the capacity and generation mix of energy technologies (including renewable energy technologies) as well as methods of energy sector balancing (i.e. back-up plant, storage, interconnection, demand-side response, etc.). DECC does not allocate total system costs to individual technologies.
	However, the main additional cost drivers (beyond capacity and generation costs) include new network investment and system balancing costs. It is likely that new generation on the periphery of the network or new very large plants might need additional network investment and/or create greater constraints. Additionally, it is likely that with the increase in intermittent generation the level of reserve needed by the system operator may need to increase due to the uncertainty of knowing generation output an hour ahead. More detail on the potential system cost in the future can be found in a recent Imperial College and NERA publication for DECC: “Understanding the Balancing Challenge”(1).
	(1)Note:
	ttp://www.decc.gov.uk/publications/basket.aspx?filetype =4&filepath=11%2fmeeting-energy-demand%2ffuture-elec-network%2f5767-understanding-the-balancing-challenge.pdf&minwidth=true#basket

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to his contribution of 24 October 2012, Official Report, column 939, on energy market reform, what legislative proposals he plans to bring forward to ensure that energy companies have to inform people of the best deal.

Gregory Barker: Details are still being developed with a number of options on how the Government will ensure people get the lowest tariffs being considered, we plan to publish our proposals for consultation this month.

Fuel Poverty: Cumbria

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of people in fuel poverty in (a) Barrow and Furness constituency and (b) Cumbria in each of the last five years.

Gregory Barker: Fuel poverty is measured at household level. DECC have produced estimates of local area fuel poverty for 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010. The figures for Barrow and Furness constituency and Cumbria are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of households in fuel poverty Barrow and Furness constituency Cumbria 
			 2010 8,700 51,000 
			 2009 11,100 61,200 
			 2008 8,400 52,500 
			 2006 6,800 41,000

Green Deal Scheme

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he plans to reintroduce requirements in the Green Deal Code of Practice for ancillary works to be undertaken by members of competent persons schemes.

Gregory Barker: The Green Deal Code of Practice is currently being updated to reflect discussions with stakeholders and in order to refine some outstanding requirements. It will be tabled in Parliament shortly. A requirement relating to ancillary works is one we are looking to include in the updated version of the Code.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what criteria his Department has set to distinguish what qualifies someone to be termed as a Green Deal apprentice.

Gregory Barker: Through the Green Deal we have set out standards which participants must meet, and provided support for individuals and organisations to be trained to meet those standards. The Green Deal thus creates an important framework for people to develop the skills they will use in their future work, though it does not in itself include any formal qualification of "apprenticeship".
	For example, for Green Deal advisers, we have developed national occupation standards to define the necessary level of adviser competence; a qualification and credit framework to identify the amount of learning to be undertaken; and, a syllabus that establishes the route to the knowledge required to qualify as a Green Deal adviser. These functions inform private sector training courses, which underpin GDA qualifications delivered by Ofqual approved awarding bodies.
	We have also provided a 'go early' training subsidy for 1,000 advisors and 1,000 installers to help people take up opportunities within the Green Deal. Those on the installer training programme are being facilitated to achieve a national vocational qualification (NVQ).

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the oral answer by the Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change to the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon, of 1 November 2012, Official Report, columns 356-7, on Green Deal, how many hits the Green Deal website has had.

Gregory Barker: On 17 October 2012 the gov.uk website was launched. The Green Deal page has been viewed 38,543 times. The gov.uk site continues to be developed by the Government Digital Service under a transition where gov.uk will replace departmental websites by 2013.
	Meanwhile, information on the Green Deal remains on the DECC website which can be directly accessed via a landing page
	www.decc.gov.uk/greendeal
	In the period 1 January to 8 November 2012 there were 185,183 visits to the Green Deal landing page on the DECC website. In October 2012, it was visited 33,488 times. The introductory quick guide to the Green Deal, published mid October, was downloaded 7,134 times.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how his Department plans to record the net number of jobs created by the Green Deal.

Gregory Barker: The Green Deal and ECO Impact Assessment, produced in June 2012(1), estimates that the number of jobs in the insulation industry will rise from around 27,000 in 2007-08(2) to between 39,000 and 60,000 (full-time equivalent) by 2015. These are jobs that will be supported by installation of the main household insulation measures (solid wall, cavity wall, loft and floor). Other measures are expected to be taken up as a result of the Green Deal and ECO but these have not been quantified for their employment impacts.
	These employment ranges are derived using market intelligence for the resources required to meet expected installation rates of measures, and employment multipliers from spending in the sector. DECC is planning to use the same methodology to estimate the number of jobs supported by Green Deal and ECO-driven energy efficiency installations going forward.
	(1 )http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/consultation/green-deal/5533-final-stage-impact-assessment-for-the-green-deal-a.pdf
	(2 )Underlying data: Low Carbon and Environmental Goods and Services: an Industry Analysis; Innovas; 2009

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many Green Deal assessments have been carried out since October 2012.

Gregory Barker: Green Deal assessments are completed when they have been conducted in the property and the results are lodged on the EPC register, through software developed specifically for occupancy assessments. While we understand a number of appointments for the in-property assessments have been made, no assessments have yet been lodged on the register.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how his Department plans to monitor the number of properties which have taken out a Green Deal package.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change will primarily use Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) data to monitor the number of properties which have taken out a Green Deal Plan. Lodgement of an EPC must always happen for a Green Deal Plan to be agreed.

Power Failures

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has received representations on the effects on customers of the time taken by UK power networks to restore power supply in the event of power failures; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: In line with our responses to other parliamentary questions my hon. Friend has recently asked, we have considered this response from trawling correspondence opened over the last two years. During this period DECC has not received any representations from customers who have experienced a power supply failure regarding the length of time it has taken UK Power Network's to restore supplies.

Radioactive Materials

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what support his Department is providing to the (a) civil and (b) defence sector nuclear supply chains.

John Hayes: DECC continues to work to remove obstacles to investment in new nuclear build, to develop confidence in the wider supply chain and to ensure that UK supply chain and the wider labour market benefit substantially from a new build programme.
	The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), has recently announced the formation, with industry, of a Nuclear Industry Council which will take a strategic lead in driving the deployment of new nuclear and making sure the UK supply chain is equipped to maximise the economic benefits at home and abroad.
	The Department, in partnership with industry, are currently developing a comprehensive Nuclear Supply Chain Action Plan, which I expect to be publish in December and which will set out in detail how the UK can maximise the economic benefit resulting from the existing and future civil nuclear developments.
	The Department does not provide any support for the defence nuclear sector as this is not part of DECC's remit.

Renewable Energy

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect of greater certainty in oil demand and price trends on investment in alternative fuels; and which alternative fuels his Department regards as priorities for such investment.

Norman Baker: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Transport.
	The Government recognises that volatile oil prices have the potential to create damaging uncertainty for investors, and has acted to support those willing to invest in alternative fuels. We are also working internationally to improve the functioning of global energy markets and reduce price volatility, in particular through engagement with key producers and international fora such as the G20 and International Energy Forum.
	The Government recognises the potential of a wide range of alternative fuels in delivering low carbon transport. Several of these are already incentivised under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, including, in addition to bioethanol and biodiesel, fuels such as biomethanol and biomethane.
	The Government also recognises the potential of hydrogen as a road transport fuel in the UK. A group of industry and Government partners – UK H2 Mobility - has been formed to evaluate the potential for hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles to contribute to the decarbonisation of road transport. The group will publish a report on their initial findings by the end of 2012.
	Earlier this year the Department announced a competition for funding for low carbon lorries and infrastructure demonstration trials. Trials using alternative fuels were eligible for funding provided that they offered at least 15% CO2 saving compared with diesel. The results of the competition were announced in August, confirming that £11m of funding will be made available, principally for gas vehicles and their supporting infrastructure.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will consider the introduction of new measures to protect the welfare of live animal exports.

David Heath: The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, which is responsible for implementation of the EU rules on the protection of animals during transport (Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005), has taken a number of recent measures, including an increase in the inspection of animals and vehicles at the point of loading.

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to have a thorough inspection of live export shipments from associated ports.

David Heath: Following the decision by Associated British Ports to temporarily suspend live exports from the port of Ipswich, there is currently only one port in England handling live exports for slaughter, and this is Ramsgate, where export consignments are subject to inspection at the point of loading and at the port.
	If exporters wish to use other ports elsewhere, they will need to satisfy the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency that their planned journey (including the use of the port in question) is in full compliance with the requirements of Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport.

Farms

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much land has been lost from farming and agriculture in (a) England, (b) the North West and (c) Cumbria in each of the last 10 years.

David Heath: The total area on commercial(1) agricultural holdings in England, the North West region and Cumbria for each of the last 10 years are show in the following table. The areas have remained largely unchanged over the past decade.
	
		
			  Area (hectares) 
			  England North West and Merseyside Cumbria 
			 2002 9,000,367 874,521 453,355 
			 2003 9,077,666 888,108 457,304 
			 2004 9,065,061 886,710 455,471 
			 2005 9,168,414 895,398 460,165 
			 2006 9,220,534 926,581 478,291 
			 2007 9,173,625 908,244 461,668 
			 2008 9,212,205 919,755 468,608 
			 2009 8,976,477 901,308 465,540 
			 2010 8,887,287 878,791 450,697 
			 2011 8,915,247 884,916 454,152 
			 2012 8,985,135 n/a n/a 
			 n/a = These areas are not yet available as the detailed geographical dataset is yet to be produced for the 2012 June Survey results. (1) Commercial holdings are those with significant levels of farming activity. These significant levels are classified as any holding with more than 5 hectares of agricultural land, 1 hectare of orchards, 0.5 hectares of vegetables or 0.1 hectares of protected crops, or more than 10 cows, 50 pigs, 20 sheep, 20 goats or 1,000 poultry.

Floods: Barrow in Furness

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of homes and businesses at risk of flooding in Barrow and Furness constituency in each of the last five years; and whether his estimate has changed as a result of mitigation measures in each of the last five years.

Richard Benyon: In 2007, the Environment Agency's flood map of Barrow and Furness identified 3,479 properties at flood risk from rivers and the sea. The more recent study in 2008 saw a reduction of 2,239 in the number of properties identified as being at risk from flooding. This is due to the improved accuracy of flood mapping. Approximately 120 businesses and 1,120 residential properties remain at flood risk from rivers and the sea. No further studies have been undertaken and none are planned for the area.

Members: Correspondence

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to answer the letter from the hon. Member for Halton sent on 8 October 2012.

Richard Benyon: The Under-Secretary of State, my noble Friend Lord de Mauley, replied to the hon. Member for Halton (Derek Twigg) on 9 November.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

European Parliament Location

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on ending the two seat operation of the European Parliament.

David Lidington: The UK Government is committed to reducing cost and waste in the European Union, and we believe that a single seat for the European Parliament in Brussels would save, money and make it more efficient. To achieve this reform would require a change to the EU treaties.
	This has not been the subject of recent discussions but the UK's position on this issue is well-known including from the coalition programme for Government.

Kosovo

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to improve transparency in the judiciary of Kosovo.

David Lidington: As highlighted by the European Commission in its Feasibility Study for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and Kosovo, the limited independence and impartiality of the judiciary is a serious impediment to strengthening the rule of law in Kosovo.
	The UK is taking a number of steps to support the Kosovo Government's efforts to address these challenges, including the need for greater transparency in the judiciary. We continue to support actively the work of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) by providing over 35 secondees, including the Deputy Head of Mission, judges and prosecutors. We also fund a number of projects aimed at improving the performance and transparency of the Kosovo judiciary. Examples include working with the Humanitarian Law Centre to improve the judiciary's management of war crimes and ethnically/politically-motivated crimes, and working with the Kosovo Judicial Institute to strengthen the capacity of Kosovo's prosecutors, judges and police investigators to tackle corruption.

Kosovo

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had on political interference in the judiciary in Kosovo.

David Lidington: The Government regularly raises with the Kosovo Government the need for further strengthening of the independence of the Kosovo judiciary. Most recently, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised the importance of judicial reform during his visit to Kosovo on 24-25 October.

Papua New Guinea

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials in his Department are stationed in Papua New Guinea.

Hugo Swire: The UK has an active and engaged high commission in Port Moresby, with a mix of approximately 15 staff These numbers include UK-based civil servants and staff employed locally.

Private Education

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many employees of his Department claim the continuity of education allowance; and what the grade is of each employee.

Alistair Burt: Members of the diplomatic service must be prepared to serve anywhere in the world at any time during their career, sometimes at very short notice. Those who are parents are legally obliged to ensure that their children receive a full-time education. Where staff cannot, or choose not, to take their children overseas, we contribute towards the costs of boarding school education in the UK for children up to the age of 18, provided that officers meet specific eligibility criteria. This enables the children to have stability and continuity of education, which is particularly important for secondary school age children. We provide financial support to all eligible diplomatic staff, irrespective of grade, who serve overseas, to help enable them to meet this requirement.
	In the current school term, autumn 2012, 380 staff are claiming continuity of education allowance, in the following grades:
	
		
			  Number 
			 Clerical Support Grade (A2) 22 
			 Third Secretary (B3) 48 
			 Second Secretary (C4/5) 92 
			 First Secretary (D6/7) 118 
			 Senior Management Structure (SMS) 100

Private Education

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which schools in Scotland receive funding from the continuity of education allowance; and how much each school received in the last three years.

Alistair Burt: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff are free to choose the schools that their children attend provided they meet the criteria for FCO funding, including offering full boarding provision to enable children to remain at the school to achieve continuity of education while parents continue to move between UK and overseas postings. Various factors, including availability of places and proximity of other family members, influence which schools staff choose for their children. The FCO's financial support is limited to standard term fees up to a ceiling, reviewed annually, above which parents are required to pay the difference.
	The FCO is currently contributing towards the fee costs of children attending the following schools in Scotland:
	Fettes College
	Glenalmond College
	Gordonstoun
	Strathallan School
	But, in the last three years the following sums were paid for children attending schools in Scotland:
	
		
			 £ 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Fettes 71,722 80,116 116,487 
			 Glenalmond 69,306 88,825 84,080 
			 Gordonstoun 5,840 17,766 18,566 
			 Strathallan School 64,947 83,539 112,956 
			 Loretto School 24,930 16,995 8,655 
			 Total 236,745 287,241 340,744 
		
	
	Costs have risen as a result of an increase in the number of children attending schools in Scotland and increases in fee levels.

Private Education

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many children are funded by the continuity of education allowance to attend schools in Scotland.

Alistair Burt: In autumn term 2012 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is contributing towards the fee costs of 16 children at school in Scotland.

Private Education

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on the continuity of education allowance for pupils attending schools in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) England and (d) Ireland in each of the last three years.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spent the following sums on continuity of education allowance in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Financial year 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Scotland 236,745 287,241 340,744 
			 Wales 26,763 44,813 46,478 
			 England 13,051,318 12,719,574 15,047,461 
			 Ireland (Northern) 8,850 0 0 
			 Ireland (Republic) 6,175 15,770 13,688 
		
	
	The FCO's financial support under continuity of education allowance is limited to standard term fees up to a ceiling, which is reviewed annually.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will reconsider the implementation of VAT in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Mark Simmonds: The introduction of value added tax is a decision for the Turks and Caicos Islands Government. The VAT Bill was signed into law on 18 July and will come into force on 1 April 2013.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will work with the new Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands to ensure that it provides effective governance of the islands.

Mark Simmonds: The British Government takes its responsibilities for the security and good governance of the Territories seriously. The interim administration, with support from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development, has put public finances on the right track, strengthened the legal framework for good governance and strengthened the public service. The British Government is committed to continuing its work to support Turks and Caicos Islands.
	In a statement on 9 November, commenting on the elections, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), said that he looked forward to building a strong and constructive partnership with the newly elected Government.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to ensure resources are made available to support the new government in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Mark Simmonds: The British Government is committed to continuing its work to support the Turks and Caicos Islands. It has provided a guarantee of up to US$ 260 million of borrowing until 2016, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development will continue a programme of technical assistance to the Territory beyond the 9 November elections.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Arrests

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests there were under section 14 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012.

Jeremy Browne: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	Data on arrests are reported to the Home Office on the basis of aggregated offence groupings, for example sexual offences. From these centrally reported groupings, it is not possible to separately identify arrests for specific offences.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department has received any reports of threats made against farms in the two proposed pilot badger cull areas; and whether any arrests have been made in relation to any such threats.

Damian Green: The Home Office has had regular discussions with the police about their arrangements for policing the proposed badger culls. Reports of threats and any arrests are an operational matter for the police.

Child Abuse in North Wales Judicial Inquiry

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when she expects to appoint an independent head of the investigation into the Waterhouse report;
	(2)  what resources she plans to allocate to the independent head of the investigation into the Waterhouse report.

Jeremy Wright: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
	I refer the right hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), on 8 November 2012, Official Report, column 44WS.

Children: Protection

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how her Department's multi-agency safeguarding project supports local areas to safeguard and manage the risks to children and vulnerable people in each area; and how that project relates to trafficked children.

Jeremy Browne: The Home Office are working in partnership with the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Department of Health and the Department for Education to improve national and local understanding of the different local multi-agency models in place to support information sharing around safeguarding responses for vulnerable people (for example children (including trafficked children), vulnerable adults, domestic violence victims, missing people).
	The project will undertake work with a selection of local areas to better understand these models and identify critical success factors or any common barriers so that this learning can be shared with other areas who are looking to develop their multi-agency working and information sharing arrangements. The national picture will be included in a final project report.

Firearms

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many replica weapons were used in connection with a criminal offence in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many de-activated weapons were used in connection with a criminal offence in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many re-activated weapons were used in a criminal offence in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions.
	The latest published National Statistics available are for 2010/11 and relate to the number of offences recorded by the police in England and Wales where a firearm was used. It is not known whether the same firearm was used in multiple offences.
	The table below shows the number of incidents recorded by the police in England and Wales for each of the weapon types in question from 2006/07 to 2010/11. The published National Statistics include the category of 'imitation firearm' to cover replica weapons. This category includes weapons such as BB guns, soft air weapons which can fire small plastic pellets at low velocity, and deactivated firearms.
	
		
			 Offences recorded by the police in which firearms were reported to have been used, by type of principal weapon, 2006-07 to 2010-11, England and Wales 
			 Number 
			 Principal weapon 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Imitation firearms 2,516 2,562 1,507 1,512 1,610 
			 Deactivated firearms(1) 2 2 2 2 6 
			 Reactivated firearms 3 3 6 1 15 
			 (1) Deactivated weapons are also included in the 'Imitation firearms' category. Source: Police recorded crime. Home office. 
		
	
	These data were previously published by the Home Office and are available on their website here:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/hosb0212/
	Following the transfer of crime statistics from the Home Office, the ONS have taken on responsibility for the publication of these statistics, and the next publication covering data up to 2011/12 will be released in February 2013.
	Separate data for Scotland are published by the Scottish Government and the latest figures, which relate to the 2010/11 year, can be found here:
	http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/PubFirearms
	Information for Northern Ireland are held by the Police Service for Northern Ireland but are not routinely published as National Statistics.

National Wildlife Crime Unit

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received on future funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit.

Jeremy Browne: The Home Office has received representations on future funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit from a range of interested parties.

Police: Conduct

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have been (a) dismissed with no notice, (b) dismissed with notice, (c) received a final written warning, (d) received a written warning, (e) issued management action and (f) had no further action taken against them in each of the last five years in each force area.

Damian Green: The Home Office collect figures on the number of police officers who have been dismissed, by police force area, in each of the last five years, 2007-08 to 2011-12, as shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of police officers who have been dismissed, by police force area, 2007-08 to 2011(1, 2, 3) 
			  2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 
			 Avon and Somerset 1 3 2 4 4 
			 Bedfordshire 1 3 5 1 1 
			 Cambridgeshire 4 0 1 4 2 
			 Cheshire 3 2 3 1 1 
			 Cleveland 2 3 5 5 3 
			 Cumbria 1 1 1 0 1 
			 Derbyshire 4 4 10 10 7 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2 2 4 0 1 
			 Dorset 2 2 3 4 3 
			 Durham 1 2 3 3 2 
			 Dyfed-Powys 3 3 1 0 3 
			 Essex 1 4 2 0 5 
			 Gloucestershire 0 1 0 2 1 
			 Greater Manchester 8 7 4 6 6 
			 Gwent 6 2 0 1 3 
			 Hampshire 5 4 6 2 3 
			 Hertfordshire 4 5 2 2 2 
			 Humberside 2 2 2 2 3 
			 Kent 4 2 9 4 5 
			 Lancashire 8 6 4 8 3 
			 Leicestershire 7 2 0 1 4 
			 Lincolnshire 0 0 2 2 1 
			 London, City of 2 0 2 1 3 
			 Merseyside 13 10 4 6 19 
			 Metropolitan Police 23 19 24 39 51 
			 Norfolk 1 5 2 3 2 
			 Northamptonshire 2 4 2 1 1 
			 Northumbria 9 4 4 8 5 
			 North Wales 0 0 0 4 1 
			 North Yorkshire 2 2 1 1 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 2 1 2 3 4 
			 South Wales 2 2 2 8 1 
			 South Yorkshire 0 1 5 1 1 
			 Staffordshire 8 1 4 3 6 
			 Suffolk 2 2 1 0 0 
			 Surrey 5 4 4 6 4 
			 Sussex 1 2 3 0 2 
			 Thames Valley 4 8 11 7 2 
			 Warwickshire 1 1 3 0 0 
			 West Mercia 0 1 2 0 4 
			 West Midlands 16 8 6 9 6 
			 West Yorkshire 8 6 6 7 4 
			 Wiltshire 0 0 0 3 0 
			 England and Wales 170 141 157 172 178 
			 (1 )This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding there may be an apparent discrepancy between the totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2 )Figures are provisional and have not been verified by police forces. (3 )Dismissals include members of staff required to resign, staff who have been made compulsorily redundant or staff whose contract has been terminated. 
		
	
	These figures cannot be broken down further by the number of police officers who have been dismissed with no notice, dismissed with notice, received a final written warning, received a written warning, issued management action or had no further action taken against them as the Home Office does not collect this level of information.

Sabina Eriksson

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the decision was made to release Sabina Eriksson on 19 May 2008 after she had been detained at the local police station under the Mental Health Act 1983 without a full psychiatric examination having been undertaken.

Damian Green: I understand from Staffordshire police that Sabina Eriksson was arrested by them on 17 May 2008, not detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.
	None the less, she did receive a formal assessment from a social worker and a psychiatric consultant while in custody.
	Following that assessment and Sabina Eriksson's appearance at North Staffordshire magistrates court on 19 May 2008, where she was sentenced to time already served in police custody, the police had no further power to continue to detain her.

Vetting

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Criminal Records Bureau checks have been requested for those in regulated positions in each month since May 2010.

Damian Green: Information is not recorded in the format requested because the Criminal Records Bureau application form does not contain a field for regulated positions or regulated activity.
	The following table contains the number of certificates issued to applicants whose application forms indicated they required checks against the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) children's barred list only; the ISA adults' barred list only and both the ISA children and adults' barred lists, broken down in each month from May 2010.
	
		
			 Disclosure applications received only from May 2010 to October 2012 
			 Number 
			  ISA children only ISA adult only ISA children and adult 
			 2010    
			 1 May 133,505 42,741 163,582 
			 1 June 148,876 48,036 186,157 
			 1 July 144,340 40,307 173,607 
			 1 August 61,316 40,162 155,004 
			 1 September 89,814 44,914 201,719 
			 1 October 114,457 43,804 202,900 
			 1 November 113,902 45,635 199,088 
			 1 December 76,029 29,493 133,272 
			     
			 2011    
			 1 January 86,043 35,139 151,208 
			 1 February 103,864 40,951 175,138 
			 1 March 113,082 46,210 191,359 
			 1 April 83,354 34,937 145,200 
			 1 May 94,923 39,429 161,091 
			 1 June 105,424 41,794 175,663 
		
	
	
		
			 1 July 113,276 41,678 177,757 
			 1 August 85,993 45,209 178,096 
			 1 September 102,759 44,612 197,317 
			 1 October 117,006 43,754 191,057 
			 1 November 115,714 45,669 181,142 
			 1 December 84,794 33,577 132,955 
			     
			 2012    
			 1 January 97,466 39,654 150,819 
			 1 February 103,242 47,798 165,463 
			 1 March 122,095 48,373 180,549 
			 1 April 88,418 40,495 150,310 
			 1 May 114,889 45,636 177,603 
			 1 June 101,013 39,775 161,364 
			 1 July 130,824 48,279 199,163 
			 1 August 83,249 48,200 178,292 
			 1 September 98,596 40,895 171,536 
			 1 October 136,917 49,500 190,074 
			 Total 3,165,180 1,276,656 5,198,485

JUSTICE

Alternatives to Prison

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the results of the intensive alternatives to custody pilot programme.

Damian Green: The initial analysis found no difference between Intensive Alternatives to Custody and other court orders in relation to the impact on reoffending. However, we do know that reoffending rates for all community sentences are lower than for short prison sentences of less than 12 months. We are undertaking further analysis using one-year reoffending results for IAC orders made in 2010 and hope to publish the updated work by the middle of 2013.

Community Orders

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward proposals to introduce tougher community penalties.

Jeremy Wright: The Government has introduced a package of reforms in the Crime and Courts Bill, which aims to strengthen the sentencing framework and make community sentences more robust. Among other proposals, we are planning to impose a duty on courts to include a punitive element in every community order.
	We anticipate a punitive requirement to be typically a restriction of liberty such as community payback or curfew, or a fine.

Freedom of Information

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many freedom of information requests were submitted to his Department between 2008 and 8 November 2012; how many such requests were answered; and how many freedom of information requests remain unanswered.

Jeremy Wright: The following table provides a yearly breakdown of the number of requests received by the Ministry of Justice and associated bodies not listed as separate public authorities under schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act ('the Act').
	Under the Official Statistics Code of Practice, we cannot release statistics for a time period prior to their appearance in a regular statistical report. Statistics for 1 July-8 November 2012 are therefore not included.
	Figures for July-September 2012 will be published on 13 December 2012. Figures for 1 October to 31 December will be published on 25 April 2013. These will be published on the Justice website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/foi/implementation
	These figures have been obtained from a central database. These figures include only first requests—appeals against responses provided to requests are not counted.
	
		
			  Total 
			 2008 1,377 
			 2009 2,970 
			 2010 3,316 
			 2011 2,624 
			 2012 (1 January-30 June) 1,667 
			 Total 11,954 
		
	
	Of requests received within this period all bar nine have been responded to.

Freedom of Information

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many answers to freedom of information requests made between 2008 and 8 November 2012 were provided within the prescribed time period; how many such answers were provided within (a) one week, (b) two weeks, (c) three weeks, (d) one month, (e) two months, (f) six months and (g) one year.

Jeremy Wright: It would be at disproportionate cost to provide a break-down of final responses issued within (a) one week, (b) two weeks, (c) three weeks, (d) one month (e) two months, (f) six months and (g) one year, as a manual check of each case answered within the period would be required.
	However, the following table provides a yearly percentage of responses issued within the statutory deadline (20 working days, or a permitted extension). The figures include requests received by the Ministry of Justice and associated bodies not listed as separate public authorities under schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act ('the Act').
	Under the Official Statistics Code of Practice, we cannot release statistics for a time period prior to their appearance in a regular statistical report. Statistics for 1 July-8 November 2012 are therefore not included.
	Figures for July-September 2012 will be published on 13 December 2012. Figures for 1 October to 31 December will be published on 25 April 2013. These will be published on the Justice website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/foi/implementation
	These figures have been obtained from official statistics. These figures include only first requests.
	
		
			 Ministry of Justice Percentage answered within deadline 
			 2008 62.3 
			 2009 71.9 
			 2010 85.8 
			 2011 84.2 
			 2012 92.1

Freedom of Information

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many freedom of information requests his Department refused to answer between 2008 and 8 November 2012; and what grounds were given in each such case.

Jeremy Wright: A breakdown of the information requested is provided in the following table. Under the Official Statistics Code of Practice, we cannot release statistics for a time period prior to their appearance in a regular statistical report. Statistics for 1 July-8 November 2012 are therefore not included.
	Figures for July-September 2012 will be published on 13 December 2012. Figures for 1 October to 31 December will be published on 25 April 2013. These will be published on the Justice website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/foi/implementation
	These figures have been obtained from a central database. These figures include only first requests—appeals against responses provided to requests are not counted.
	For those cases where an exemption was applied, refusals under section 21 of the Act are not included. Section 21 is applied when the information requested is accessible by other means, for example on the Justice website. The official statistics do not include this data.
	
		
			 Reason for refusal 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 (1 January-30 June) 
			 Vexatious 1 3 1 6 2 
			 Repeated 3 9 12 11 5 
			 Cost limit 202 487 711 890 440 
			 An exemption applied 187 318 397 398 178 
			 Total refusals 393 817 1121 1305 625

Freedom of Information

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many freedom of information requests were subject to an appeal to the Information Commissioner between 2008 and 8 November 2012; what the decision of the Commissioner was in each such case; and how many of the Information Commissioner's judgments his Department has complied with.

Jeremy Wright: Between 2008 and 8 November 2012 the Information Commissioner's Office formally investigated and served Decision Notices on 119 appeals.
	The following table details the outcome of the appeal: whether it was upheld, partly upheld or not upheld.
	These figures include complaints against some of the Department's associated bodies not listed as separate public authorities under schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act.
	
		
			 Appeal Number 
			 Upheld 34 
			 Partly upheld 32 
			 Not upheld 53 
		
	
	The Ministry of Justice complied with all Decision Notices, bar four. In those four cases, the Department appealed the Commissioner's Decision at the first tier tribunal (information rights).

Youth Offending Teams

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  which youth offending team has had the largest reduction in its annual budget since 2010;
	(2)  how much funding each youth offending team has received in each year since 2007.

Jeremy Wright: Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) are multi-agency partnerships funded primarily by the local authority and local statutory partners; including the police, probation, health authorities and where relevant the Welsh Assembly Government. The Ministry of Justice contributes funding through the Youth Justice Board (YJB) in the form of youth justice grants to YOTs.
	As of April 2012, the YJB distributed the grant to 160 YOTs. Individual contributions vary but on average the youth justice grant represents around a third of a YOTs' funding. The following data has been provided by the YJB and relates to total YOT funding rather than just the YJB element of it.
	(1) Windsor and Maidenhead YOT has had the largest reduction in annual budget between 2009-10 and 2010-11 from £1,140,718 in 2009-10 to £542,528 in 2010-11, a decline of 52.4%. 2010-11 is the latest period for which data is available. This is against a background of a reduction in first time entrants within Windsor and Maidenhead YOT of 53%.
	(2) The following table shows details of funding received by each YOT in the period 2007-08 to 2010-11, the latest year that data is available, broken down by YOT and financial year.
	The funding provided by the YJB covers all funding provided by the YJB to YOTs, this differs from figures published in Youth Justice Statistics:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/youth-justice/yjb-statistics-10-11.pdf
	which only provides details of the core grant provided by YJB to YOTs.
	YOT funding between financial years and areas is not directly comparable due to changes in the way funding has been allocated and termination of discrete funding streams over set periods of time. The number of YOTs have also changed between the periods of 2007 and 2010, impacting on how the figures are represented.
	
		
			 Table of YOT funding from 2007-08 to 2010-11 
			  £  
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 Change 2009-10 to 2010-11 % change 2009-10 to 2010-11 
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,034,248.00 2,416,377.00 2,281,941.28 2,290,187.02 -8,245.74 -0.4 
			 Barnet 999,654.00 1,072,585.81 1,276,791.66 1,259,808.36 16,983.30 1.3 
			 Barnsley 1,574,873.00 1,932,637.00 1,956,020.22 1,960,970.00 -4,949.78 -0.3 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 662,964.00 821,763.09 841,713.74 856,574.00 -14,860.26 -1.8 
			 Bedfordshire 2,259,193.00 2,293,606.00 2,729,838.29 2,656,936.00 72,902.29 2.7 
			 Bexley 921,885.00 992,142.00 1,021,855.42 935,361.00 86,494.42 8.5 
			 Birmingham 9,485,873.00 10,034,391.45 9,719,340.70 9,345,932.15 373,408.55 3.8 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 1,630,567.00 1,976,656.00 1,853,654.21 1,746,268.28 107,385.93 5.8 
			 Blackpool 1,429,785.00 1,565,250.00 1,735,630.84 1,691,310.00 44,320.84 2.6 
			 Blaenau, Gwent and Caerphilly 2,035,336.00 2,349,210.76 2,385,824.50 2,385,318.00 506.50 0.0 
			 Bolton 1,482,333.00 1,575,845.00 1,606,001.67 1,635,511.00 -29,509.33 -1.8 
			 Bournemouth and Poole 1,181,506.00 1,244,565.38 1,356,046.70 1,350,269.00 5,777.70 0.4 
			 Bracknell Forest 645,199.00 682,184.00 704,894.62 712,628.00 -7,733.38 -1.1 
			 Bradford 3,440,127.00 3,991,439.91 3,626,645.44 3,576,389.80 50,255.64 1.4 
			 Brent 1,920,952.00 1,858,132.00 1,998,440.43 2,439,516.00 -441,075.57 -22.1 
			 Bridgend 824,548.00 906,124.43 960,643.10 961,008.00 -364.90 0.0 
			 Brighton and Hove 1,258,661.00 1,372,910.00 1,375,113.27 1,270,937.00 104,176.27 7.6 
			 Bristol 3,110,839.00 3,314,888.18 3,350,721.97 3,283,820.86 66,901.11 2.0 
			 Bromley 1,223,140.00 1,563,759.37 1,552,789.33 1,657,378.00 -104,588.67 -6.7 
			 Buckinghamshire 1,896,197.00 2,107,616.00 2,226,579.13 2,192,555.41 34,023.72 1.5 
			 Bury 1,913,737.80 1,381,533.01 1,386,163.27 1,297,454.00 88,709.27 6.4 
			 Calderdale 1,777,023.00 1,879,800.00 1,773,756.75 1,844,241.04 -70,484.29 -4.0 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,951,115.00 1,933,562.00 2,388,327.92 1,846,580.00 541,747.92 22.7 
			 Camden 2,754,176.00 2,602,427.07 2,844,490.29 2,514,014.23 330,476.06 11.6 
			 Cardiff 2,461,353.00 2,814,433.00 2,924,598.01 2,922,743.33 1,854.68 0.1 
			 Carmarthenshire 1,124,717.00 1,382,054.64 1,554,034.83 1,095,867.00 458,167.83 29.5 
			 Ceredigion 599,175.52 747,316.94 775,195.59 798,578.00 -23,382.41 -3.0 
			 Cheshire 2,458,230.00 2,568,442.00 3,156,329.30 3,398,012.00 -241,682.70 -7.7 
			 Conwy and Denbighshire 1,028,792.00 1,076,726.21 1,264,169.71 1,299,708.00 -35,538.29 -2.8 
			 Cornwall 2,021,943.00 2,145,114.00 2,285,721.66 2,166,363.00 119,358.66 5.2 
			 Coventry 2,583,743.00 2,847,999.00 2,698,201.79 2,642,215.29 55,986.50 2.1 
			 Croydon 2,756,545.00 2,945,833.00 3,302,808.63 3,547,944.59 -245,135.96 -7.4 
			 Cumbria 2,580,113.00 2,761,464.00 2,967,084.59 2,858,406.00 108,678.59 3.7 
			 Darlington 974,988.00 1,023,681.00 1,059,154.39 1,016,263.00 42,891.39 4.0 
			 Derby 2,187,210.00 2,248,864.00 2,345,070.26 2,266,631.29 78,438.97 3.3 
			 Derbyshire 2,646,724.00 3,070,595.00 4,118,467.79 3,557,072.00 561,395.79 13.6 
			 Devon 3,163,131.00 3,183,190.00 3,280,478.56 3,312,329.00 -31,850.44 -1.0 
			 Doncaster 2,183,626.00 2,507,461.28 2,485,766.05 2,573,435.00 -87,668.95 -3.5 
			 Dorset 1,570,619.00 1,690,021.22 1,794,301.88 1,756,108.00 38,193.88 2.1 
			 Dudley 2,323,492.00 2,452,252.00 2,576,354.84 2,591,505.00 -15,150.16 -0.6 
			 Durham 4,086,973.00 4,156,517.00 4,278,496.97 4,288,558.00 -10,061.03 -0.2 
			 Ealing 1,981,743.00 1,863,359.00 1,891,113.06 1,864,216.50 26,896.56 1.4 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 1,212,664.00 1,297,022.00 1,450,769.51 1,589,920.00 -139,150.49 -9.6 
			 East Sussex 2,099,540.00 2,263,041.00 2,391,372.66 2,391,373.00 -0.34 0.0 
			 Enfield 2,015,506.00 1,923,573.00 2,695,552.03 2,898,541.81 -202,989.78 -7.5 
			 Essex 4,156,126.00 4,343,840.00 5,691,710.41 5,499,319.00 192,391.41 3.4 
			 Flintshire 1,124,874.72 1,354,398.00 1,582,045.32 1,532,776.00 49,269.32 3.1 
			 Gateshead 1,225,557.00 2,076,698.00 2,180,463.12 2,267,815.00 -87,351.88 -4.0 
			 Gloucestershire 3,135,402.00 3,477,297.00 3,998,143.86 3,413,263.00 584,880.86 14.6 
			 Greenwich 2,310,485.00 1,482,509.00 2,833,792.53 3,070,382.00 -236,589.47 -8.3 
			 Gwynedd Mon 1,188,972.00 1,249,465.00 1,348,473.24 1,523,135.00 -174,661.76 -13.0 
			 Hackney 3,756,702.00 3,352,122.00 3,018,841.86 2,931,476.10 87,365.76 2.9 
			 Halton and Warrington 1,867,972.00 1,837,589.00 1,936,158.48 1,745,427.00 190,731.48 9.9 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,757,262.00 1,671,817.00 1,800,736.16 2,338,710.15 -537,973.99 -29.9 
			 Haringey 3,002,639.00 2,457,459.00 2,417,838.34 2,381,943.12 35,895.22 1.5 
			 Harrow 1,193,041.00 1,361,830.63 1,013,250.79 1,657,468.48 -644,217.69 -63.6 
			 Hartlepool 1,405,209.95 1,474,033.00 1,367,752.40 1,355,674.00 12,078.40 0.9 
			 Havering 1,009,450.00 1,116,003.00 1,323,191.13 1,250,197.00 72,994.13 5.5 
			 Hertfordshire 3,936,853.00 4,158,573.00 4,396,474.77 4,389,475.00 6,999.77 0.2 
		
	
	
		
			 Hillingdon 1,428,823.00 1,504,057.00 2,091,881.33 2,101,013.00 -9,131.67 -0.4 
			 Hounslow 1,530,175.00 1,728,616.00 1,579,930.71 1,682,338.49 -102,407.78 -6.5 
			 Islington 1,644,247.00 1,708,382.91 1,772,150.46 1,996,501.74 -224,351.28 -12.7 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1,567,696.00 1,508,105.97 1,672,209.72 1,713,973.82 -41,764.10 -2.5 
			 Kent 7,679,376.00 7,669,959.00 7,275,765.82 6,689,740.00 586,025.82 8.1 
			 Kingston-upon-Hull 2,419,220.00 2,501,233.00 2,529,154.12 2,741,315.00 -212,160.88 -8.4 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 859,376.00 993,373.64 1,016,900.24 1,049,546.00 -32,645.76 -3.2 
			 Kirklees 2,977,398.00 3,120,354.00 3,115,754.82 3,075,071.81 40,683.01 1.3 
			 Knowsley 1,765,141.00 1,976,253.08 1,787,503.30 1,789,883.00 -2,379.70 -0.1 
			 Lambeth 2,822,857.00 3,207,020.70 2,952,133.35 2,950,666.17 1,467.18 0.0 
			 Lancashire 5,522,706.16 5,675,691.48 5,926,127.77 5,940,873.00 -14,745.23 -0.2 
			 Leeds 6,815,862.80 7,085,132.87 7,076,141.54 7,076,323.04 -181.50 0.0 
			 Leicester City 3,782,109.00 3,869,922.00 3,109,135.84 3,042,297.82 66,838.02 2.1 
			 Leicestershire 2,579,780.00 2,705,272.00 2,848,495.94 2,837,736.00 10,759.94 0.4 
			 Lewisham 2,293,805.00 3,376,436.00 1,859,249.20 3,363,570.31 -1,504,321.11 -80.9 
			 Lincolnshire 3,394,734.00 3,289,713.00 3,456,336.67 3,333,018.00 123,318.67 3.6 
			 Liverpool 5,167,957.84 5,404,968.08 5,957,228.42 6,026,884.00 -69,655.58 -1.2 
			 Luton 1,969,154.00 1,993,004.00 1,987,838.94 1,955,525.59 32,313.35 1.6 
			 Manchester 4,920,985.00 5,210,028.40 5,109,709.80 5,108,091.00 1,618.80 0.0 
			 Medway 1,082,428.00 1,175,072.00 1,310,020.44 1,232,450.56 77,569.88 5.9 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 679,962.00 638,200.00 674,637.49 693,263.00 -18,625.51 -2.8 
			 Merton 792,337.00 818,509.00 994,465.49 1,051,945.00 -57,479.51 -5.8 
			 Milton Keynes 1,361,330.73 1,487,737.00 1,656,746.98 1,687,547.00 -30,800.02 -1.9 
			 Monmouthshire and Torfaen 1,261,781.00 1,296,695.00 1,664,033.09 1,618,033.00 46,000.09 2.8 
			 Neath Port Talbot 1,594,238.80 1,718,232.09 2,015,038.66 1,771,311.00 243,727.66 12.1 
			 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 2,717,704.00 3,079,940.00 3,146,255.28 2,894,561.57 251,693.71 8.0 
			 Newham 4,959,721.00 3,482,334.00 3,300,948.40 2,858,948.00 442,000.40 13.4 
			 Newport 1,148,817.00 1,314,650.00 1,489,214.66 1,475,529.00 13,685.66 0.9 
			 Norfolk 4,096,742.00 3,516,482.00 3,726,732.09 3,888,837.00 -162,104.91 -4.3 
			 North East Lincolnshire 1,341,174.00 1,644,874.00 1,343,171.26 922,504.00 420,667.26 31.3 
			 North Lincolnshire 1,318,798.00 1,250,116.00 1,122,549.87 1,095,843.00 26,706.87 2.4 
			 North Somerset 727,793.00 1,082,568.10 859,574.84 1,029,683.20 -170,108.36 -19.8 
			 North Tyneside 1,181,188.00 1,158,005.51 1,257,820.03 1,258,955.00 -1,134.97 -0.1 
			 North Yorkshire 2,809,317.00 3,213,336.00 3,452,255.22 3,485,701.00 -33,445.78 -1.0 
			 Northamptonshire 3,605,073.00 3,796,501.00 4,166,339.30 3,928,624.00 237,715.30 5.7 
			 Northumberland 2,107,771.00 2,199,627.00 845,214.90 2,084,025.00 -1,238,810.10 -146.6 
			 Nottingham 3,173,817.00 3,503,957.00 3,636,564.90 3,591,476.00 45,088.90 1.2 
			 Nottinghamshire 4,207,309.00 4,243,213.00 4,353,814.48 4,930,190.00 -576,375.52 -13.2 
			 Oldham 1,896,623.00 2,015,583.76 1,788,777.64 1,754,575.00 34,202.64 1.9 
			 Oxfordshire 2,830,607.00 3,071,402.77 3,231,308.62 3,231,629.00 -320.38 0.0 
			 Pembrokeshire 769,331.00 1,000,972.65 879,969.16 882,801.00 -2,831.84 -0.3 
			 Peterborough 2,013,689.00 2,071,305.00 1,909,664.59 1,831,905.40 77,759.19 4.1 
			 Plymouth 1,332,249.00 1,406,106.00 1,545,626.64 1,590,571.00 -44,944.36 -2.9 
			 Powys 918,969.52 1,152,847.23 1,168,466.13 1,125,643.00 42,823.13 3.7 
			 Reading 1,439,227.00 1,586,468.00 1,641,115.61 1,427,379.00 213,736.61 13.0 
			 Redbridge 2,084,378.00 2,226,718.00 2,429,210.22 2,055,365.45 373,844.77 15.4 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff 2,399,044.00 2,434,570.00 2,446,047.59 2,595,640.00 -149,592.41 -6.1 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 677,156.01 691,779.00 338,877.01 391,433.00 -52,555.99 -15.5 
			 Rochdale 2,109,371.00 2,363,578.00 2,152,537.15 2,052,720.00 99,817.15 4.6 
			 Rotherham 2,921,985.80 2,128,479.34 2,111,464.16 2,138,434.00 -26,969.84 -1.3 
			 Salford 1,472,674.00 1,564,545.98 1,615,467.24 1,602,467.00 13,000.24 0.8 
			 Sandwell 2,016,566.00 2,241,746.16 1,698,725.62 2,110,250.04 -411,524.42 -24.2 
			 Sefton 1,859,297.00 2,219,476.00 2,155,497.26 2,022,297.00 133,200.26 6.2 
			 Sheffield 3,028,126.00 3,705,487.00 3,913,533.37 3,606,374.00 307,159.37 7.8 
			 Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin 1,836,798.00 1,960,473.00 2,081,347.85 2,534,888.00 -453,540.15 -21.8 
			 Slough 1,074,369.00 1,179,948.48 1,120,038.94 1,192,284.82 -72,245.88 -6.5 
			 Solihull 1,111,457.00 1,269,712.69 1,296,632.16 1,269,124.00 27,508.16 2.1 
			 Somerset 2,677,890.00 2,674,683.00 2,765,027.19 2,726,507.00 38,520.19 1.4 
			 South Gloucestershire 939,031.00 937,148.00 960,942.85 1,013,823.00 -52,880.15 -5.5 
			 South Tees 3,241,109.36 3,037,495.27 3,045,911.42 3,026,931.00 18,980.42 0.6 
		
	
	
		
			 South Tyneside 1,626,431.00 1,678,340.77 1,715,497.57 1,933,540.00 -218,042.43 -12.7 
			 Southend-on-Sea 842,347.00 946,923.00 1,150,823.27 1,213,605.00 -62,781.73 -5.5 
			 Southwark 3,599,941.00 4,083,933.25 3,651,454.80 4,046,280.43 -394,825.63 -10.8 
			 St. Helens 1,371,714.00 1,380,940.53 1,609,070.29 1,752,288.00 -143,217.71 -8.9 
			 Staffordshire 4,594,322.00 4,822,642.00 4,967,155.52 5,017,381.00 -50,225.48 -1.0 
			 Stockport 1,633,803.00 1,735,856.00 1,821,110.41 1,664,368.00 156,742.41 8.6 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 1,259,183.00 1,348,972.00 1,352,921.03 1,443,837.00 -90,915.97 -6.7 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 2,445,423.00 2,535,059.00 2,702,422.00 3,013,305.00 -310,883.00 -11.5 
			 Suffolk 3,546,540.00 3,573,334.00 3,717,721.23 3,591,686.00 126,035.23 3.4 
			 Sunderland 4,067,531.48 4,108,128.00 4,241,478.76 3,781,917.00 459,561.76 10.8 
			 Surrey 2,896,715.00 2,983,696.00 3,662,069.65 3,585,012.00 77,057.65 2.1 
			 Sutton 925,416.00 807,574.31 903,069.78 780,794.00 122,275.78 13.5 
			 Swansea 2,069,050.00 2,327,065.00 2,746,781.17 2,376,040.00 370,741.17 13.5 
			 Swindon 969,585.00 1,069,755.73 1,066,210.93 1,010,569.68 55,641.25 5.2 
			 Tameside 1,490,302.00 1,635,013.92 1,725,736.82 1,728,462.00 -2,725.18 -0.2 
			 Thurrock 1,042,422.00 1,131,938.00 1,157,463.10 1,522,352.00 -364,888.90 -31.5 
			 Torbay 853,693.00 896,815.00 899,418.08 920,336.00 -20,917.92 -2.3 
			 Tower Hamlets and City of London 1,864,442.00 1,983,377.00 1,984,676.80 2,140,560.22 -155,883.42 -7.9 
			 Trafford 2,512,420.00 2,869,739.00 3,039,042.69 3,224,240.72 -185,198.03 -6.1 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 991,459.00 994,363.56 1,101,760.41 1,197,805.00 -96,044.59 -8.7 
			 Wakefield 1,981,690.00 2,159,544.54 2,298,350.09 1,985,070.43 313,279.66 13.6 
			 Walsall 1,722,936.00 2,099,155.00 1,899,896.59 1,725,848.00 174,048.59 9.2 
			 Waltham Forest 2,026,516.00 958,040.00 1,854,938.78 1,855,870.40 -931.62 -0.1 
			 Wandsworth 2,217,787.00 2,028,546.00 2,033,437.04 2,268,339.00 -234,901.96 -11.6 
			 Warwickshire 2,271,891.00 2,469,646.00 2,375,757.45 2,496,493.00 -120,735.55 -5.1 
			 Wessex 7,592,099.00 8,381,509.00 8,975,186.39 9,359,256.68 -384,070.29 -4.3 
			 West Berkshire 881,133.00 963,841.00 1,062,716.68 1,055,936.00 6,780.68 0.6 
			 West Sussex 2,368,313.00 1,992,035.00 2,296,034.17 1,819,569.00 476,465.17 20.8 
			 Westminster 1,825,591.00 2,306,351.00 1,293,606.91 1,350,497.95 -56,891.04 -4.4 
			 Wigan 1,946,132.00 2,132,529.51 2,224,521.09 2,219,831.00 4,690.09 0.2 
			 Wiltshire 1,620,205.00 1,691,327.97 1,789,983.19 2,505,668.00 -715,684.81 -40.0 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 668,857.00 684,847.44 1,140,718.01 542,528.00 598,190.01 52.4 
			 Wirral 2,366,442.00 2,643,605.00 2,757,225.27 2,832,470.00 -75,244.73 -2.7 
			 Wokingham 378,822.00 558,287.00 652,759.78 543,308.00 109,451.78 16.8 
			 Wolverhampton 2,873,855.96 3,028,619.32 2,902,715.76 2,711,810.00 190,905.76 6.6 
			 Worcestershire and Herefordshire 3,194,828.00 3,339,657.00 3,507,974.92 3,491,437.00 16,537.92 0.5 
			 Wrexham 1,126,659.00 1,511,879.03 1,278,203.14 1,167,646.00 110,557.14 8.6 
			 York 835,777.00 874,664.00 918,964.14 1,034,696.00 -115,731.86 -12.6 
			 Total 344,006,230.45 361,077,645.44 372,071,246.77 372,971,307.15 -900,060.38 -0.2

NORTHERN IRELAND

Press: Subscriptions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which magazine, journal and newspaper subscriptions held by her Department have been cancelled since May 2010.

Michael Penning: The magazines, journals and newspaper subscriptions held by my Department that have been cancelled since May 2010 are as follows:
	London Private Office
	Daily Mail
	Daily Express
	Daily Mirror
	New Statesman
	London Private Office
	(cancelled from September 2012)
	Financial Times
	Guardian
	Independent
	Sun
	Daily Star
	Times
	Daily Telegraph
	Belfast Press Office
	Daily Express
	Independent
	Belfast Private Office
	(cancelled from September 2012)
	Belfast Telegraph
	Daily Telegraph
	Sun
	Daily Mail
	Guardian
	Times
	Irish Independent
	Irish Times
	Irish News
	Newsletter
	Financial Times
	Belfast Constitution and Political Group
	(cancelled from April 2012)
	News Letter
	Belfast Telegraph
	Irish News
	Irish Times

PRIME MINISTER

Middle East

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  which meetings included human rights on the agenda during his recent visit to (a) the United Arab Emirates and (b) Saudi Arabia; and which other representatives from the UK were present at those meetings;
	(2)  what the outcome was of discussions during his recent visit to the Middle East in respect of human rights.

David Cameron: I had wide-ranging conversations with Emirates and Saudi leaders, as well as conversations with groups from the business, university and legal communities in those countries. We have a policy of supporting human rights around the world, and no subject is off limits in the conversations we have with these countries, as part of a strategic partnership in support of prosperity, security and open societies. I refer the hon. Member to paragraphs 6, 7 and 8 of what I said at Zayad university, Abu Dhabi which can be found on the No. 10 website.

TRANSPORT

Airports

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the Commission chaired by Sir Howard Davies tasked to identify and recommend to the Government options for future UK hub airport capacity, for what reason he has precluded the possibility that the Commission could use its interim report to recommend a substantive airport policy if the Commission is persuaded that there is an urgent economic case to do so.

Simon Burns: The published timetable for the Airports Commission sets out the issues that its interim report must address. The Commission will be free to go beyond this if it wishes to do so. Sir Howard and the Secretary of State for Transport are in agreement, however, that if the commission is to succeed, it must put in place a robust evidence base for any recommendations.
	The timetable has been designed so as to allow the commissioners sufficient time to consider all the credible options on an equal basis, including those which have not yet been subjected to substantial development or evaluation.

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average cost to his Department was of processing the payment of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period his Department paid (a) electronically and (b) by cheque.

Norman Baker: The average cost of processing the payment of an invoice for the Department and its seven executive agencies for the latest periods for which figures are available is £5.35.
	In determining the average cost of processing an invoice, the cost is calculated by taking the direct costs of the staff involved, and dividing it by the total number of invoices paid.
	The average proportion of invoices settled electronically and by cheque for the Department is:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			 Electronic 89.8 
			 Cheque 10.2

Driving: Eyesight

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to highlight the dangers of driving with poor eyesight.

Stephen Hammond: Rule 92 of the Highway Code highlights that it is a statutory requirement to wear glasses or contact lenses while driving if you need them to read a number plate in good daylight from a distance of 20 metres. A number of Driving Standards Agency publications also highlight the dangers of driving with poor eyesight. The police have the power to require a driver to undertake an eyesight test.
	Drivers must be able to read a number plate from 20 metres with glasses or corrective lenses if necessary. They must also notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency if at any time they develop an eye condition that affects their visual acuity or field and provide assurance that they have never been advised that they cannot meet 6/12 measured on a Snellen eyesight chart. Drivers who fail to notify or who drive while unable to read a number plate from the appropriate distance are committing an offence and may invalidate their motor insurance.

Macquarie Group

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times staff of his Department have met representatives of the Macquarie Group in the latest period for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: holding answer 8 November 2012
	Staff from the Department for Transport routinely meet a range of organisations from both the public and private sectors. The Department does not, as a matter of routine, collect data on the total number of meetings by staff with specific organisations.
	The Permanent Secretary had no meetings with representatives of Macquarie Group in the last 12 months. However, one Director General had a meeting with representatives of Macquarie Group in the last 12 months.
	Additionally, details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/ministerial-transparency/#meetings

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the likely effect on the annual average price of car insurance of the introduction of the ban on gender discrimination in December 2012;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the average annual car insurance premium for (a) male and (b) female persons aged between 17 and 25;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the number of users of telematics technology in each of the next five years;
	(4)  what his policy is on promoting the use of telematics technology for young drivers.

Stephen Hammond: The Government has made very clear its concerns about any move to prevent the use of gender as a risk factor in the pricing of insurance policies. We suspect that the impact of the judgment might in the short-term raise the cost of motor insurance for women drivers and give a smaller decrease for men. The Government continues to work closely with the Financial Services Authority and Association of British Insurers on this issue.
	The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), has made no estimates for the average cost of car insurance for males or females between the ages of 17 and 25. However, you may find it useful to, know that on the 23 October, the AA British Insurance Premium Index published their findings on car insurance premiums for the three months ending 30 September 2012:
	http://www.theaa.com/services/insuranceandfinance/insuranceindex/index.html
	We continue to working closely with the motor insurance industry to examine initiatives to reduce insurance premiums.
	The Secretary of State for Transport has made no estimates of the number of telematics users in each of the next five years. Some insurers have introduced the use of telematics or in-car black boxes to allow better risk-based pricing of insurance for young people.
	The use of telematics or in-car technology means insurers now have a real time data feed, which allows them to see an individual's driving behaviour, which has not been possible in the past.
	There is some evidence that suggests that young drivers could see their annual premiums fall by 20% or more with a black box installed, saving many hundreds of pounds over time.
	Research so far has also shown that use of telematics can significantly reduce crash rates and levels of risky driving behaviours.
	We welcome the increasing number of insurers who are making use of this technology. We are supportive of any measures that make driving safer and also want to see improvements in young driver safety reflected in their insurance premiums.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Credit Unions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what support his Department is providing to credit unions which are experiencing difficulties breaking even in the current economic climate; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The Department carried out a feasibility study to examine options for the modernisation and expansion of credit unions. Further investment of up to £38 million to the end of March 2015 will support participating credit unions to expand their service and reduce their delivery costs in a way that will enable them to become financially sustainable.
	We have invited proposals from the sector and the bid evaluation process is now under way. We anticipate we will be in a position to contract early in the new year.

Housing Benefit

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many housing benefit claimants under the age of 25 living in (a) the social rented sector and (b) the private rented sector of each passported benefit status are (i) single and without children, (ii) single with children, (iii) in a couple and without children and (iv) in a couple with children.

Steve Webb: The requested information is in the following table:
	
		
			 Housing benefit recipients, passported, aged under 25 years, by tenure type, family type and passported benefit type, May 2012 
			    In receipt of 
			 Tenure type Family type All passported IS IB-JSA IB-ESA 
			 Social rented sector All family types 162,200 92,210 52,030 17,950 
			  Single without children 77,750 21,850 41,150 14,750 
			  Single with children 70,010 67,220 1,660 1,130 
			  Couple without children 4,640 1,190 2,570 880 
			  Couple with children 9,800 1,950 6,660 1,190 
			 Private rented sector All family types 127,910 70,900 45,570 11,440 
			  Single without children 51,510 7,740 35,020 8,750 
		
	
	
		
			  Single with children 62,960 60,730 1,420 810 
			  Couple without children 5,340 920 3,490 930 
			  Couple with children 8,090 1,510 5,630 960 
			 Notes: 1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Recipients are as at second Thursday of the month. 4. SHBE is a monthly electronic scan of claimant level data direct from local authority computer systems. It replaces quarterly aggregate clerical returns. The data is available monthly from November 2008 and May 2012 is the most recent available. 5. Passported status does not include recipients with unknown passported status. 6. Age groups are based on the age on the count date (second Thursday in the month), of either: (a) the recipient if they are single, or (b) the elder of the recipient or partner if claiming as a couple. Source: Single housing benefit extract (SHBE)

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which local authorities have indicated that they will provide additional funding to supplement the additional £390 million allocated for discretionary housing payments to ease the effect of his Department's housing benefit reforms.

Steve Webb: None. Local authorities are free to provide their own funding for discretionary housing payments of up to 2½ times their annual allocation from central Government. Allocations are made annually and for 2013-14 are expected to be announced in December. Local authorities have a large degree of discretion in deciding on the circumstances in which to make these payments. They need not decide beforehand whether and to what extent to add their own funding to the annual allocation in making decisions on who should be given priority or the amount of payment when considering claims.

Personal Independence Payment

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions his Department has had with the Motability charity on personal independence payments.

Esther McVey: We are continuing to work closely with Motability to understand what impact personal independence payment might have on their customer numbers and to ensure they are well placed to manage the introduction of the new benefit.

Remploy

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason three per cent of Remploy employees made unemployed this year have gained alterative employment.

Esther McVey: Not all of the 1,421 people affected have yet left Remploy employment.
	The figure of 3% refers to the number of people who found jobs immediately following the closure of the first 27 factories.
	Although it is still early days, we are starting to see people who have engaged with their Personal Case Worker and are using the People Help and Support Package find alternative work.
	Remploy and DWP are working closely with local employers to identify vacancies and explore options for ex-Remploy workers.

Social Security Benefits

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of people in work receiving benefits; what proportion of benefits are paid to people in work; and what the total monetary value is of benefits paid to people in work.

Mark Hoban: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given to the right hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne East (Mr Brown) on 21 March 2012, Official Report, column 716W.
	This is the most recent estimate that has been made. The analysis did not cover numbers of benefit recipients.
	Further benefit expenditure and caseload information is published at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=expenditure

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions of the 56,000 households his Department estimates will be effected by the benefit cap, how many will be in receipt of employment and support allowance.

Mark Hoban: Our estimates of those affected by the benefit cap show that around 14,200 households will receive employment and support allowance (ESA) at the point of implementation (April 2013).
	Please note that this figure reflects the expected migration of incapacity-related claims to ESA in the coming years—and so those on incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance are counted within the ESA figures.
	The figures presented above are consistent with the recent Impact Assessment published on the 16 July 2012. In making these estimates we assume that the situation of these households will go unchanged, and they will not take any steps to either work enough hours to qualify for working tax credit, renegotiate their rent in situ, or find alternative accommodation. In all cases the Department is working to support households through this transition, using existing provision through Jobcentre Plus and the Work Programme to move as many into work as possible. Therefore, please note that these figures are subject to change prior to the policy being implemented in April 2013.

Unemployment: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's Innovation Fund in addressing youth unemployment.

Mark Hoban: We have undertaken a very, systematic procurement process in order to select the best organisations to deliver the Innovation Fund projects. We have carefully scrutinised the quality, innovation and likely success of the projects as part of the procurement process. There is a robust evaluation in place to provide evidence on the success of the Innovation Fund projects and results will be published in due course.

Universal Credit

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish (a) the full list of passported benefits and (b) how they will be treated under universal credit.

Mark Hoban: A full list of the main passported benefits as published in the Social Security Advisory Committee report ‘Universal Credit—the impact on passported benefits’ is shown in the following tables.
	The administration of passported benefits is the responsibility of a number of Government Departments and the devolved Administrations. We are currently working across Government to ensure that we introduce universal credit in a way that works smoothly with all passported benefits whilst ensuring that these benefits continue to be available to the families that need them most.
	
		
			 England 
			 Benefits-in-kind Cash benefits Discounts on charges or fees 
			    
			 Responsibility of Government Department   
			 Benefits from the pupil premium (DFE) Cold weather payments (DWP) Jobcentre Plus travel discount card (DWP) 
			 Free early education for disadvantaged two-year-olds (DFE) Funeral payments (DWP) Optical voucher (DH) 
			 Free school meals and free school milk (DFE) Help with health care travel costs (DH) — 
			 Health costs, i.e. free prescriptions/free eye test/dental care/wigs and fabric supports (DH) Help with prison visiting costs (MOJ—NOMS) — 
			 Healthy Start vouchers and vitamins (DH) Sure Start maternity grant (DWP) — 
			 Legal Aid (MOJ) — — 
			 Remission from court fees (MOJ) — — 
			    
			 Responsibility of local authorities   
			 Help with the costs of residential school visits School clothing grant (cash/cheque) Bus and tram discount scheme—London (Transport for London) leisure discounts 
		
	
	
		
			 Leisure services, e.g. free swimming — — 
			 School clothing grant (vouchers) — — 
			 School transport — — 
			    
			 Responsibility of other bodies   
			 Leisure services Educational grants, e.g. Adult Discretionary Learner Support Funds, 16-19 Bursary Leisure discounts 
			 — — BT Basic (BT) 
			 — — Warm Home Discount 
			 — — Voluntary social tariffs from utility companies 
			 — — WaterSure 
		
	
	
		
			 Scotland 
			 Benefits-in-kind Cash benefits Discounts on charges or fees 
			 Responsibility of Government Department   
			 Free school meals (Scottish Government) Cold weather payments (DWP) Optical voucher (Scottish Government) 
			 NHS prescriptions (Scottish Government) Funeral payments (DWP) Education maintenance allowance (Scottish Government) 
			 NHS dentistry exemptions (Scottish Government) Sure Start maternity grant (DWP) Energy Assistance Package Stage 3 (Scottish Government) 
			 Healthy Start vouchers and vitamins (Scottish Government/DH) None repayment of children's welfare loans (Scottish Government) — 
			 Legal Aid (Scottish Government Help with prison visiting costs — 
			 Exemption from court fees (Scottish Government) NHS patient travel costs (Scottish Government) — 
			    
			 Responsibility of local authorities   
			 Leisure services/discount —- — 
			 School clothing grant — — 
			    
			 Responsibility of other bodies   
			 — Educational grants BT Basic (BT) 
			 — — Warm Home Discount 
		
	
	
		
			 Wales 
			 Benefits-in-kind Cash benefits Discounts on charges or fees 
			 Responsibility of Government Department   
			 Free school meals and free school milk (DFE/Welsh Government) Cold weather payments (DWP) Jobcentre Plus travel discount card (DWP) 
			 School uniform grant (DFE/Welsh Government) Funeral payments (DWP) Optical voucher (DH) 
			 Health costs, i.e. free eye test/dental care (DH) Help with health care travel costs (DH) — 
			 Healthy Start vouchers and vitamins (DH) Help with prison visiting costs (MOJ—NOMS) — 
		
	
	
		
			 Remission from court fees (MOJ) Sure Start maternity grant (DWP) — 
			 Legal Aid (MOJ) School uniform grant (DFE/Welsh Government) — 
			    
			 Responsibility of local authorities   
			 Exemption from paying the cost of board and lodging on residential trips Discretionary school clothing grant Leisure discounts 
			 Leisure services, e.g. free swimming — — 
			    
			 Responsibility of other bodies   
			 — — BT Basic 
			 — — The Nest Scheme (home energy efficiency) 
			 — — Welsh Water Assist 
		
	
	
		
			 Northern Ireland 
			 Benefits-in-kind Cash benefits Discounts on charges or fees 
			 Responsibility of Government Department   
			 Free school meals (DoE) Cold weather payments (DWP) Exemptions and remissions of court fees (MOJ) 
			 Health costs, i.e. free eye test/dental care (Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety) Funeral payments (DWP) Optical vouchers (Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety) 
			 Healthy Start vouchers and vitamins (Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety) Sure Start maternity grant (DWP) — 
			 Hospital Travel Costs Scheme School clothing allowance (DOE) — 
			 Legal Aid (MOJ) Help with prison visiting costs (MOJ) — 
			 Warm Homes Scheme (Department for Social Development) — — 
			    
			 Responsibility of local authorities and Health and Social Care Trusts   
			 Board and lodging on residential school trips — Limited help with the cost of leisure facilities/ discounts 
			    
			 Responsibility of other bodies   
			 — Educational grants BT Basic 
			 Abbreviations used: DWP = Department for Work and Pensions; DFE = Department for Education; DH = Department of Health; MOJ = Ministry of Justice; NOMS = National Offender Management Service

Universal Credit

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of workless households he expects to be in receipt of universal credit by March 2015 under the roll out plans of November 2011.

Mark Hoban: The number of people in receipt of universal credit in each year will depend on the detailed rules for managing the build-up of the caseload. The briefing note published in November 2011 set out a broad strategy for migrating claimants, but did not contain a single precise option for migration.

Universal Credit

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department will announce the average marginal deduction rates and participation tax rates for the combined universal credit and council tax benefit in each local authority.

Mark Hoban: Universal credit will have the effect of significantly reducing the number of households facing higher participation tax rates as well as removing the situations where those in work face very high marginal deduction rates. Excluding the impact of localising council tax support, we expect that around 500,000 people who currently have MDRs above 80% will see these reduced to 76.2% or lower.
	The design of and levels of council tax support are matters for each individual local authority and the Department does not have any plans to announce combined effects by local authority.

Universal Credit

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to Table 5 on page 21 in his universal credit impact assessment, what the average cash increase in benefits will be for those first earners in workless households enjoying a lower participation tax rate under universal credit at (a) 10 hours, (b) 16 hours, (c) 25 hours and (d) 37 hours.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not available.
	Under universal credit, couples living in the same household will make a joint claim for benefits. It is therefore not possible to estimate the average gain and loss for an individual within a couple.
	It is important to recognise that a package of transitional protection is being developed in order to ensure that there will be no cash losers as a direct result of the move to universal credit where circumstances remain the same.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he expects the current pause in all Government Procurement Service ICT procurements to have any effect on the timetable for delivering the ICT system for universal credit, including those elements dealing with identity assurance; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: DWP is not relying on the delivery of new GPS ICT framework procurements for the delivery of the ICT system for universal credit.
	The elements dealing with ID Assurance were delivered through a DWP led Open Competition and not through a GPS ICT Framework.
	DWP was seeking to utilise the GPS ICT Protective Monitoring lot for procurement for services to protect DWP online transactions. DWP has amended its procurement approach for these services in light of this pause and the timetable for that procurement has not been affected.

Welfare to Work: Medway

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were employed by companies based in Medway under the welfare to work programme in the last year.

Mark Hoban: Official statistics on Work programme job outcomes will be released on 27 November. It will not be possible to separately identify jobs with employers based in the Medway area. However job outcomes will be broken down by local authority, parliamentary constituency and Jobcentre Plus district. These geographical areas are based on the claimant's address at the time of referral, not the address of the employer.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research his Department has undertaken on the sectors of the economy that are engaging with work programme providers.

Mark Hoban: An independent evaluation has been commissioned to explore delivery, experience and outcomes from the Work programme. There will be no direct focus on employer engagement but the evaluation will measure the proportions of jobs secured in different employment sectors. The evaluation will begin reporting in November 2012, with a final report due in 2014-15.

EDUCATION

Children in Care: Missing Persons

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what progress has been made by his Department's Task and Finish group set up as a result of the all-party parliamentary group inquiry into children missing from care; and when he expects the group to report.

Edward Timpson: The Out of Area Placements Task and Finish Group has been focusing on how to improve arrangements, and the quality of care and support, for looked after children placed ‘out of area' by their local authorities. This is part of the wider work announced by Ministers in July to reform children's residential care. The group has comprised senior expert representation from children's services, local authorities, providers, Ofsted and others. It has met frequently over the summer and concluded its work at the end of September. We will consider its proposals and announce the actions we intend to take in due course.

Children in Care: Missing Persons

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what progress has been made by his Department's Expert Data group set up as a result of the all-party parliamentary group inquiry into children missing from care; and when he expects the group to report.

Edward Timpson: The Expert Data Group has been chaired by the Department and includes representatives from the Association of Directors of Children's Services, police organisations, The Children's Society and Ofsted. It has met frequently since July to consider how to safeguard looked after children who go missing, or are at risk of going missing, by developing improved local and national data collection arrangements, and strengthening practice among carers, children's homes, local authorities and the police. We will consider its proposals and announce the action we intend to take in due course.

Children: Internet

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  when he expects to announce the results of the consultation on the Opt-in Approach to harmful content on the internet;
	(2)  when he expects to inform members of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety about the future of the Government's plans for extending active choice in the light of the consultation in respect of Opt-in.

Edward Timpson: holding answers 8 November 2012
	The consultation on parental internet controls was held between 28 June and 6 September 2012. The primary responsibility for helping children stay safe online, as offline, lies with parents. The consultation, therefore, considered how best Government, the internet industry and others can assist parents in that task. It sought views on three approaches to keeping children safe online: the default filtering of age-restricted and potentially harmful internet content which could be accessed by adult internet users who asked their internet service provider to remove the filters; requiring parents to make an active, unavoidable choice on setting controls for their children's access to the internet; and a combination of the first two approaches.
	Over 3,500 responses were received, reflecting a very wide range of views, including from parents, members of the public, businesses, charities and academics. We are now considering all these responses before deciding our course of action, and we expect to inform members of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety as soon as our decision is made.

GCSE

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils (a) eligible and (b) not eligible for free school meals sat GCSEs in each subject in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will place a copy of the data in the Library.

Elizabeth Truss: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 GCSE attempts(1,2) by pupils at the end of key stage 4 by subject and free school meal (FSM) eligibility, year: 2010/11 (final). Coverage: England, state-funded schools(3) 
			  Pupils eligible for FSM All other pupils(4) All pupils 
			  Number Percentage(5) Number Percentage(5) Number Percentage(5) 
			 Number of pupils 79,168  487,759  566,927  
			        
		
	
	
		
			 Pupils attempting GCSEs in:       
			 English 72,460 91.5 472,988 97.0 545,448 96.2 
			 Mathematics 74,748 94.4 477,731 97.9 552,479 97.5 
			        
			 Core Science 43,526 55.0 286,682 58.8 330,208 58.2 
			 Additional Science 25,467 32.2 211,038 43.3 236,505 41.7 
			 Additional Applied Science 4,110 5.2 24,685 5.1 28,795 5.1 
			 Physics 6,644 8.4 107,465 22.0 114,109 20.1 
			 Chemistry 6,689 8.4 107,548 22.0 114,237 20.2 
			 Biological Sciences 6,846 8.6 108,263 22.2 115,109 20.3 
			 Other Sciences(6) 2,646 3.3 14,637 3.0 17,283 3.0 
			        
			 D & T: Electronic Products 851 1.1 8,735 1.8 9,586 1.7 
			 D & T: Food Technology 6,263 7.9 46,900 9.6 53,163 9.4 
			 D & T: Graphic Products 4,658 5.9 38,199 7.8 42,857 7.6 
			 D & T: Resistant Materials 6,560 8.3 46,580 9.5 53,140 9.4 
			 D & T: Systems and Control 282 0.4 3,809 0.8 4,091 0.7 
			 D & T: Textiles Technology 3,928 5.0 28,760 5.9 32,688 5.8 
			 Other Design and Technology(7) 4,079 5.2 28,805 5.9 32,884 5.8 
			 Information Technology(8) 2,430 3.1 28,356 5.8 30,786 5.4 
			 Business Studies 4,736 6.0 52,254 10.7 56,990 10.1 
			 Home Economics 3,915 4.9 22,061 4.5 25,976 4.6 
			        
			 Geography 11,643 14.7 130,902 26.8 142,545 25.1 
			 History 14,606 18.4 160,096 32.8 174,702 30.8 
			 Humanities 2,090 2.6 12,196 2.5 14,286 2.5 
			 Economics 262 0.3 2,652 0.5 2,914 0.5 
			 Social Studies 5,110 6.5 30,173 6.2 35,283 6.2 
			 Music 2,730 3.4 35,132 7.2 37,862 6.7 
			        
			 French 8,858 11.2 112,597 23.1 121,455 21.4 
			 German 2,781 3.5 49,603 10.2 52,384 9.2 
			 Spanish 3,688 4.7 44,660 9.2 48,348 8.5 
			 Italian 185 0.2 2,580 0.5 2,765 0.5 
			 Other Modern Languages 3,140 4.0 11,494 2.4 14,634 2.6 
			        
			 Art and Design 17,071 21.6 122,670 25.1 139,741 24.6 
			 Classical Studies 194 0.2 4,159 0.9 4,353 0.8 
			 Communication Studies 1,379 1.7 7,780 1.6 9,159 1.6 
			 Drama 7,235 9.1 59,264 12.2 66,499 11.7 
			 English Literature 43,056 54.4 370,479 76.0 413,535 72.9 
			 Media/Film/TV 6,548 8.3 44,496 9.1 51,044 9.0 
			 Physical Education 7,857 9.9 90,722 18.6 98,579 17.4 
			 Religious Studies 20,299 25.6 159,450 32.7 179,749 31.7 
			 Statistics 5,381 6.8 54,515 11.2 59,896 10.6 
			 Vocational Studies 2,080 2.6 15,863 3.3 17,943 3.2 
			 Any other subjects 2,470 3.1 13,594 2.8 16,064 2.8 
			 (1) For each subject group only one attempt is counted. Where subjects have been combined into a group (e.g. Other Modern Languages) and a pupil has an entry in two or more of those subjects, the entry with the best result is counted. (2) Includes attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (3) Includes maintained schools, CTCs and academies. (4) Includes pupils for whom free school meal eligibility could not be determined. (5) The number of GCSE attempts divided by the number of pupils. (6) Includes Double Award Science and Applied Science. (7) Includes all other combined syllabus of which Design and Technology is the major part. (8) Also includes Computer Studies, Information Systems and any combined syllabus of which Information Technology is the major part. Source: National Pupil Database

Social Workers

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to ensure the two chief social workers will work together to provide a strong voice for social work.

Edward Timpson: The two post holders will be appointed in a single process and will work collaboratively to share out those elements of the role relevant to both children and adult social work and lead a single “Office of the Chief Social Worker”.

Social Workers

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the cost per head of funding new social worker recruits through the frontline organisation.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 5 November 2012
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), met representatives of the Frontline organisation on 22 October to discuss their proposals. He asked them to prepare a business case for setting up and running a programme to recruit and train high-calibre social workers as they propose.

Special Educational Needs

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what resource his Department has committed to the development of the local offer element of the Children and Families Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: The Children Schools and Families Act 2010 makes no provision in relation to the development of a local offer.

Special Educational Needs: Sunderland

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children in Sunderland Central constituency received Special Education Needs statements in 2011.

Edward Timpson: Information on the number of children for whom statements were made for the first time during the calendar year 2011 is shown in the first table. Information is collected at local authority level and records those children for whom the authority is responsible; the Department is therefore unable to provide parliamentary constituency information.
	Information on the total number of pupils with statements of special educational needs (SEN) is also provided. This information is collected at pupil level, therefore data have been provided for England, Sunderland local authority area and Sunderland Central parliamentary constituency. It is based on school location.
	The latest special educational needs information is published in the ‘Special Educational Needs in England, January 2012’ Statistical First Release at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001075/index.shtml
	
		
			 Children with a statement maintained by the local authority: Sunderland local authority and England 
			  Total children for whom the authority maintains a statement of SEN Children for whom statements were made for the first time during the calendar year 2011 
			 England 230,155 27,445 
			 Sunderland local authority 1,080 145 
			 Note: The numbers of children have been rounded to the nearest five. Source: SEN2 Survey 2012 
		
	
	
		
			 All schools(1): Pupils with statements of special educational needs (SEN)(2), January 2012, England, Sunderland local authority and Sunderland Central constituency 
			  Pupils on roll Pupils with a statement of special educational needs Percentage of pupils with a statement of special educational needs(3) 
			 England 8,178,200 226,125 2.8 
			 Sunderland local authority 41,644 1,121 2.7 
			 Sunderland Central parliamentary constituency 15,633 343 2.2 
			 (1) Includes maintained and direct grant nursery schools, maintained primary, maintained secondary schools, city technology colleges, non-maintained special schools, maintained special schools, general hospital schools, pupil referral units, independent schools and all primary, secondary and special academes, including free schools. (2) Includes pupils who are sole or dual main registrations. In pupil referral units includes pupils registered with other providers and in further education colleges. (3) The number of pupils with statements expressed as a percentage of the total number of pupils in all schools. Note: National totals have been rounded to the nearest five. Source: School Census

Teenage Pregnancy

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) teenage and (b) non-teenage pregnancies that resulted in (i) live births, (ii) still births and (iii) legal abortions there were in each local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question on how many (a) teenage and (b) non-teenage pregnancies that resulted in (i) live births, (ii) still births and (iii) legal abortions there were in each local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available. (128101)
	The latest year for which figures on conceptions are available is 2010. Conceptions in England and Wales, 2010 is available on the ONS website and provides:
	the number of under 18 conceptions in 2010 by Regions, Counties, Unitary Authorities, London Boroughs, Metropolitan Counties, Metropolitan Districts and Non-Metropolitan Districts in 2010 (Table 6)
	the number of conceptions to women of all ages in 2010 by Regions, Counties, Unitary Authorities, London Boroughs, Metropolitan Counties, Metropolitan Districts (Table 5)
	Both tables show the percentage of conceptions leading to abortion. Conceptions data is only available broken down by the number of women giving birth (maternities) and the number of abortions. Information on stillbirths is not available by date of conception and local authority.
	Conceptions in England and Wales, 2010 is available at:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-250695
	The number of perinatal deaths (stillbirths and deaths under 1 week) for each local authority is published by date of the registration of the stillbirth or death and is available in Mortality Statistics: Deaths Registered in England and Wales by Area of Usual Residence, 2010 (Table 1a):
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-226619
	Data has been compiled in the attached spreadsheet for ease of use.

Teenage Pregnancy

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teenage pregnancies there have been and what the rate of teenage pregnancy has been in each (a) local authority area and (b) ward in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent question on how many teenage pregnancies there have been and what the rate of teenage pregnancy has been in each (a) local authority area and (b) ward in each of the last five years. (128103)
	The latest year for which figures on teenage conceptions are available is 2010. Conceptions in England and Wales 2010, on the ONS website, provides numbers and rates of under 18 conceptions in each local authority in England and Wales for the years 1998-2010. See table 6 at:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-250695
	Ward level under-18 conceptions data are not publicly available, to protect the privacy of individuals. ONS does produce a file showing the total number of conceptions to all women, and women under 18, during the last three years by census ward. Since these are sensitive data they are not published but can be made available to authorised users. The Teenage Pregnancy Unit at the Department for Education sends ONS a list of people working in local areas requiring access to this data under licence. Alternatively researchers may apply to ONS to become an approved researcher in order to access the data.

UK Youth Parliament

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on the continuance and level of funding of the UK Youth Parliament either (a) through a third-party host or (b) directly for the duration of the present Parliament.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 6 November 2012
	We will be making an announcement shortly.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many written parliamentary questions to his Department received a substantive answer (a) within five working days, (b) between six and 10 working days and (c) after more than 10 working days in the last 12 months for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of written parliamentary questions to his Department received holding responses in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department aims to answer named day questions on the date specified by the Member and ordinary questions within five sitting days. Where it is not possible to provide a full answer within these time scales the Department issues a holding reply in accordance with parliamentary guidance.
	Between 1 October 2011 and 30 September 2012, the Department received 1,653 Commons ordinary written parliamentary questions for answer, of which: (a) 526 received a response within five working days; (b) 546 were responded to between six and 10 working days; and (c) 581 were answered after 10 working days.
	In the same period, 718 named day parliamentary questions were due to be answered of which 579 (81%) received a holding response.
	The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the current session. Statistics relating to performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary session are available on the Parliament website as follows:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_ Monitoring_PQs.pdf

Written Questions: Government Responses

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects to answer Question 126359, on free schools, tabled by the hon. Member for Gedling on 30 October 2012 for answer on 2 November 2012.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 12 November 2012
	Response was issued to the hon. Member's question on 9 November 2012, Official Report, column 764W.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel have been (a) treated for post-traumatic stress disorder and (b) discharged for psychological reasons after returning from Afghanistan since 2001.

Mark Francois: Between 1 January 2007 up to 30 June 2012, latest available mental health data there have been 679 UK service personnel who have been identified as previously deployed to Afghanistan and have subsequently been seen at a Ministry of Defence Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH) or mental health in-patient provider for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
	Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) verified data prior to 2007 is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, further information on mental health statistics, including annual and quarterly reports, is available at the DASA website:
	www.dasa.mod.uk
	The following table shows the number of regular service personnel who have been identified as previously deployed to Afghanistan and have been medically discharged with a principal cause or contributory cause of mental and behaviour disorders between 7 October 2001, the start of operations in Afghanistan and 31 March 2012, the latest data available:
	
		
			  Medically discharged with a principal cause of mental and behaviour disorders Medically discharged with a contributory cause of mental and behaviour disorders 
			 Naval force(1) 20 (2)— 
			 Army 130 7 
			 RAF 21 (2)— 
			 (1) Includes Royal Navy and Royal Marines (2) Fewer than 5

Afghanistan

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information his Department holds on how many members of the Afghan National Army have deserted in each of the last three years.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 6 November 2012
	The Ministry of Defence does not hold information on Afghan National Army desertion rates, but information on attrition rates is available. Desertion is likely to account for some of this figure, but it will also include for instance personnel who are killed in action, permanently disabled, captured, and those whose deaths are classed as non-combat deaths. The average monthly attrition rate from October 2011 to September 2012 was around 4,500. This was from an ANA strength that varied during that period between 173,150 to 194,466 personnel.

Afghanistan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what equipment has been donated to the Afghan National Army; and if he will estimate the value of such equipment.

Andrew Robathan: Since June 2011, 26 elevated sangars (fortified watch-towers) associated with check points which the Afghan National Security Forces were taking over, and a small amount of stores, has been gifted to the Afghan National Security Forces, including the Afghan National Army. The total value is estimated to be £735,000. Information is not held centrally prior to this date.

Aircraft Carriers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his plans are for the operational role of HMS Prince of Wales; whether recent decisions on the procurement of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter have caused those plans to be modified; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: The Queen Elizabeth Class carriers and F-35B short take off vertical landing variant of the joint strike fighter will deliver the UK's carrier strike capability, as well as providing support to amphibious operations and broader Government interests worldwide. The decision to revert to the F-35B joint strike fighter has given us the option to use both carriers to provide continuous carrier availability should we decide to do so. A final decision on the use of the second carrier will be taken as part of the strategic defence and security review in 2015.

Armed Forces: Conditions of Service

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to publish the new employment model for service personnel.

Mark Francois: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by the then Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Leicester (Mr Robathan), on 23 March 2011, Official Report, column 1126W. The New Employment Model (NEM) programme aims to examine how we might strike a better balance between the requirements of service and the demands placed on service personnel and their families, adjusting where necessary to promote greater stability in service life while continuing to recognise the impact of mobility.
	The New Employment Model signifies the Government's commitment to deliver a modernised terms and conditions of service 'offer' to service personnel. It is a long-term change programme looking out beyond 2020 and will need to be implemented incrementally with the first elements delivered no later than 2015. Announcements on its further development will be made in due course.

Armed Forces: Credit

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance his Department provides to military personnel who are experiencing difficulties obtaining credit owing to the regular changes of address arising from their service duties.

Mark Francois: This Government is committed to combating disadvantage faced by all members of the armed forces. This includes assisting personnel who are facing difficulties obtaining credit owing to the mobility arising from their service. As part of its commitment, the Ministry of Defence is working with several organisations to improve the ability of armed forces personnel to gain access to a wider range of financial services. Working with these bodies from the financial sector they have produced a series of ‘Top Tips’ offering practical help for serving personnel in applying for secured and unsecured loans.
	In order to alleviate the added disadvantage faced by those serving overseas, British Forces Post Office addresses may now be used, which improves access to a range of online services including buying goods online and making it easier to access Government online services. This will assist credit reference agencies with their assessments and armed forces personnel serving overseas with maintaining a UK credit history recognised by financial service providers and should thus improve access to financial products.

Armed Forces: Foreign Nationals

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with Veterans Aid regarding the citizenship rights of foreign soldiers.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has regular meetings with Veterans Aid and other voluntary sector organisations about many veterans issues, including citizenship.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance his Department provides to former military personnel who have been or will be made redundant.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) will provide assistance to all those former military personnel who have been or will be made redundant. Individuals selected for redundancy are entitled to the same resettlement package which they would have received had they completed the whole of their service commitment.
	The majority of resettlement provision is contracted out to the Career Transition Partnership. This is a partnering arrangement between the MOD and Right Management Ltd, a leading outplacement company. The Career Transition Partnership assists eligible Service leavers in making a successful transition to civilian life by providing career transition workshops; employment and future career advice; assistance with CV writing and job preparation; vocational training; and a job-finding recruitment facility. This assistance is provided for two years after leaving the MOD.
	Furthermore, service leavers are entitled to lifetime job finding support through either the Officers Association or the Regular Forces Employment Association.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) B2 engineering managers, (b) C1 senior engineers and (c) experienced engineers have (i) accepted voluntary redundancy and (ii) been made compulsorily redundant in each of the last three years.

Mark Francois: holding answer 6 November 2012
	The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether serving members of the armed forces who report rape are automatically entitled to lifelong anonymity; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 provides for lifelong anonymity for all victims or alleged victims of rape, whether military or civilian.

Armed Forces: Summary Trial

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what legal advice service personnel are entitled to on whether to opt for summary trials or court martial; and what arrangements are in place to ensure they are aware of their legal advice entitlements.

Mark Francois: Regardless of the way in which a case is heard, the accused will be given a booklet entitled “Your Rights If You Are Accused of An Offence Under The Service Justice System”. This booklet explains a person's rights and options, and details of whom the person may wish to contact and how.
	A copy of the booklet is incorporated in the Manual of Service Law (MSL), Chapter 6, Annex G, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The MSL provides policy guidance and reference material on the Armed Forces Act 2006 to all those responsible for operating and administering the service justice system. This includes commanding officers, the service police forces, lawyers and court administrators. The MSL is available to all service personnel, and to the general public via the Ministry Of Defence Internet site:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/LegalPublications/ManualOfServiceLaw/
	In addition, Joint Service Publication 838: The Armed Forces Legal Aid scheme provides guidance on all aspects of legal aid for service and relevant civilian personnel, for proceedings in the court martial, service civilian court and the summary Appeal Court; including matters referred to the Director of Service Prosecutions for a decision on prosecution. This can be found at:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/LegalPublications/Jsp838TheArmedForcesLegalAidScheme.htm

Armed Forces: Summary Trial

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2012, Official Report, columns 972-3W, on armed forces: disciplinary proceedings, what proportion of summary trials involved service personnel not born in the UK; and how many such trials resulted in convictions.

Mark Francois: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost, as it would require a cross-check between each summary trial record and the individual's personnel record.

Armed Forces: Training

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the joint combat operations virtual environment being developed by the Royal School of Artillery in preparing troops for combat operations.

Mark Francois: Virtual training environments are being developed across the armed forces using the latest technology and common software. This software is used to provide realistic training to armed forces personnel in weapons and other skills in a safe environment, prior to undertaking other training activities.
	The Royal School of Artillery has been instrumental in developing and delivering the virtual environment for the Army to support individual training requirements. This type of training allows an individual's ability and competences to be assessed prior to participation in live firing practices and helps to prepare them for mission specific and collective training.

Consultants

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people currently contracted as consultants to his Department or its agencies were previously employed directly by his Department or its agencies within the last two years.

Mark Francois: holding answer 5 November 2012
	The information is not held in the format requested, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Cyprus

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what funding his Department has provided to tackle illegal bird trapping in the Cyprus Sovereign Base areas in 2012; and what steps he is taking to reduce the level of trapping.

Mark Francois: The Sovereign Base Areas (SBA) Administration are not allocated specific funding to tackle illegal bird trapping in the Cyprus Sovereign Base Areas, but in the last financial year the SBA police carried out some 350 patrols and 100 operations specifically to combat such activities. In the current financial year the SBA police have already conducted some 260 patrols and 40 operations resulting in 20 arrests and the seizure of a large quantity of trapping paraphernalia.
	Combating illegal trapping is a key priority for the SBA police and dedicated patrols are run daily throughout the known trapping season. The SBA are a member of the Bern convention, which commits the Administration to conserving the bird population by working in co-operation with all interested parties to find solutions to this problem. The SBA administration, Republic of Cyprus Authorities and non-government organisations meet regularly to co-ordinate action on this issue and this approach has led to more joint operations and a greater sharing of intelligence about known offenders.

Defence Infrastructure Organisation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation Transformation Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The Defence Infrastructure Transformation Programme comprises three key sub-programmes; the development of an Enhanced Operating Model (EOM) for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation; the introduction of improved Information Systems (IS) and the appointment of a Strategic Business Partner (SBP).
	Trade union consultation on the new EOM organisational design is under way and the IS contract has now been awarded. The procurement of the SBP commenced in May 2012. Three bidders have been down selected in August 2012 and the invitation to negotiate will be issued shortly.

Defence Infrastructure Organisation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to announce the outcome of his Department's search for a private sector partner for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence intends to announce the outcome of its search for a private sector partner for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation in summer 2013.

Lobbying

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the remit is of his Department's investigation into allegations of lobbying by former senior military personnel;
	(2)  when he expects to conclude and publish the outcome of his Department's investigation into allegations of lobbying by former senior military personnel;
	(3)  how many staff are working full-time on his Department's investigation into allegations of lobbying by former senior military personnel.

Philip Hammond: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 October 2012, Official Report, column 877W, to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones).

Mercian Regiment

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has made a decision on retaining the name of the 3rd Battalion the Mercian Regiment (Staffords) in respect of the new battalions from autumn 2014.

Andrew Robathan: The retention of the name of the 3rd Battalion the Mercian Regiment (Staffords) is a matter for the Mercian Regiment who are currently looking carefully at how to keep the history and traditions alive for future generations.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made with the Puma upgrade programme; when he expects the programme to be completed and whether there has been any delay; what the cost of the programme will be; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 31 October 2012
	The Puma Mk1 helicopter fleet is being modified and upgraded under the Life Extension Programme (LEP) to improve significantly the aircraft's safety and performance. The modified aircraft will be known as the Puma Mk2. A number of important milestones have been achieved on the project including: the maiden flight of the upgraded aircraft in June 2011, since when over 100 hours of flight tests have been conducted; the first qualification of the Puma Mk2, which was achieved in July 2012, enabling it to be delivered to the UK to conclude its test and evaluation; and, in September 2012, the first production standard aircraft undertook its maiden flight. To date, 21 of the 24 aircraft due for conversion to Mk 2 have been inducted into the programme.
	There have been some delays to aspects of the project and work is being undertaken to understand whether this will impact on fielding plans. We currently expect to field the initial aircraft for training by mid-2013 and incrementally expand the capacity and capability of the Puma Mk2 force over the subsequent two years.
	The cost of the LEP is forecast to be within its approved level of £339 million.

Parachute Regiment

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officers from the Parachute Regiment have left the Army within three years of commanding their battalions since 2005.

Mark Francois: The number of officers from the Parachute Regiment that have left the Army within three years of commanding their battalions since 2005 is less than five.

Press: Subscriptions

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to which magazines, journals and newspapers his Department subscribes.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) accesses a pan-government framework contract administered by Department for Work and Pensions for the provision of newspapers, journals and periodicals on subscription. Funding is decentralised to MOD units with valid business reasons to purchase such publications. As units collectively subscribe to around 1,000 titles, details of the publications taken by them will be placed in the Library.
	Where subscription to newspapers is impractical for business reasons, units can make ad-hoc purchases using local arrangements. Information on such purchases is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Public Expenditure

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much and what proportion of his Department's budget was spent on (a) pay, (b) pensions and (c) equipment in each year since 2007.

Mark Francois: The proportions of defence expenditure on pay, pensions and equipment, expressed as a percentage of resources consumed in each financial year are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year Pay (£ billion) Percentage Pensions (£ billion) Percentage Equipment (£ billion)(1) Percentage 
			 2007-08 9.5 21.6 2.8 6.4 12.4 28.0 
			 2008-09 9.8 21.5 2.8 6.2 13.4 29.3 
			 2009-10 10.2 20.4 3.0 6.0 13.2 26.3 
			 2010-11 10.4 18.5 3.1 5.5 14.0 24.9 
			 (1 )The figure quoted comprises capital expenditure on equipment, equipment support and research and development costs. Source: Departmental Resource Accounts and UK Defence Statistics Table 1.4. 
		
	
	In addition, payments made under the separately funded armed forces pensions scheme were £3.2 billion in 2007-08 and £3.5 billion in each of the years 2008-09, 2009-10, and 2010-11.
	Figures for 2011-12 have not yet been finalised.

Reserve Forces

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average length of service of reservists for the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Army is; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: To establish the average length of service of reservists would require extensive access to the records of personnel who have left service, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The following table shows the average length of service to date, for Volunteer Reserve personnel who were on the strength of the Reserve Forces on 1 September 2012. These figures cannot be taken as indicative of how long personnel will serve, nor of the length of volunteer reservists' careers. They should also be considered approximate as the relevant data is not complete for all current personnel.
	
		
			 Reserve force Average length of service (years) 
			 Royal Naval Reserve 7.8 
			 Royal Auxiliary Air Force 5.4 
			 Territorial Army 9

Scotland

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many sites his Department has in Scotland.

Mark Francois: holding answer 12 November 2012
	Updated information on all Ministry of Defence establishments by parliamentary constituency is available in the Library of the House.

Scotland

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are employed in Scotland in jobs linked (a) indirectly and (b) directly to UK cyber-security operations.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is responsible for the cyber security of its own systems and networks. At a national level the Cabinet Office, via the Office for Cyber Security and Information Assurance, co-ordinate the National effort on cyber security.
	At a departmental level, cyber security is the responsibility of all personnel within the MOD, and we are taking action to incorporate it into the way we conduct operations and business. In doing so, we draw on a wide range of specialist personnel; however details of their numbers, ranks or positions, are being withheld for the purpose of safeguarding national security.
	It is not Government policy to compile statistics relating to the location or number of defence industry jobs in any particular region of the UK.

Senior Civil Servants

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which civilian posts in his Department at grade 5 level or above have been abolished without direct replacement since May 2010.

Mark Francois: holding answer 5 November 2012
	The number of posts in the senior civil service (SCS) has been reduced by 41 since May 2010. This frequently involves reorganisation of functions, with other posts being created or modified in the context of a smaller, more effective organisation. It is therefore not possible to provide a meaningful list of those positions abolished without direct replacement.

Senior Civil Servants: Retirement

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many senior civil servants have retired from his Department since May 2010; what their names are; and whether each former civil servant has had any meetings with (a) Ministers and (b) senior civil servant since their retirement.

Philip Hammond: In the period from 1 January 2010 to 1 October 2012, 107 senior civil servants (SCS) ceased to be employed by the Ministry of Defence, seven of them before the start of May 2010. Of the 107 SCS departures, 13 involved moves to other Government Departments.
	Details of the remaining 94 departures are given in the following table. Since the information held by my Department does not always specify whether an individual who is leaving plans to retire, I have provided a complete list.
	Given the large number of individuals involved, information on whether they have held meetings with Ministers or senior civil servants since their last day of employment could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Senior civil servants leaving the Ministry of Defence since 1 January 2010 
			 Name Substantive grade Effective date 
			 Adams, Jacqueline SCS Pay Band 1 1 January 2012 
			 Ash, Stuart SCS Pay Band 1 1 March 2012 
			 Beadle, John Nicholas SCS Pay Band 1 1 October 2011 
			 Beazley, Patrick David SCS Pay Band 1 31 March 2012 
			 Bellamy, Keith Leonard SCS Pay Band 1 29 February 2012 
			 Bellis, Robert James SCS Pay Band 1 30 January 2010 
			 Byatt, William Geoffrey SCS Pay Band 1 30 January 2010 
			 Clark, William Coia SCS Pay Band 1 1 September 2011 
			 Colston, John Patrick SCS Pay Band 2 1 April 2011 
			 Court, Brian Michael SCS Pay Band 1 2 March 2012 
			 Craig, Gloria Linda SCS Pay Band 2 1 September 2011 
			 Davies, Neil Valentine SCS Pay Band 1 31 March 2012 
			 Davies, Peter Wain SCS Pay Band 1 15 July 2010 
			 De Bourcier, Katherine Elizabeth SCS Pay Band 1 14 April 2012 
			 Edwards, Frederick SCS Pay Band 1 1 June 2012 
			 Evans, Jonathan Trevor SCS Pay Band 2 1 September 2011 
			 Evans, Nicholas Henry Robert SCS Pay Band 2 1 September 2010 
			 Fisher, Lynda Rose SCS Pay Band 2 1 September 2012 
			 Flaherty, David Paul SCS Pay Band 2 1 October 2011 
			 Flesher, Timothy James SCS Pay Band 3 1 February 2010 
		
	
	
		
			 French, Elizabeth Alison SCS Pay Band 2 1 September 2011 
			 French, Stephen Alan SCS Pay Band 2 1 September 2011 
			 Fuller, Martin James Dering SCS Pay Band 1 1 September 2012 
			 Gardiner, George SCS Pay Band 1 30 July 2011 
			 Gates, Eric John SCS Pay Band 1 19 October 2010 
			 Gouldbourne, Ian SCS Pay Band 1 31 March 2012 
			 Gray, Andrew Patrick SCS Pay Band 1 1 May 2012 
			 Hamill, Ian G5/Assistant Secretary 31 March 2012 
			 Hole, Joanna SCS Pay Band 1 1 April 2010 
			 Howes, Sally SCS Pay Band 2 1 April 2010 
			 Hudson, John Edward SCS Pay Band 1 1 October 2012 
			 Jagger, Terence SCS Pay Band 2 1 February 2011 
			 Jeffrey, Sir William Alexander Permanent Secretary 6 November 2010 
			 Jenkins, Martin John SCS Pay Band 1 1 January 2010 
			 Jenkins, Victor SCS Pay Band 2 1 September 2011 
			 Johns, Kevin Wilson Edwin SCS Pay Band 1 2 July 2011 
			 Jolliffe, Avril Joy SCS Pay Band 1 29 April 2011 
			 Jones, Gareth Martyn SCS Pay Band 1 26 November 2010 
			 Jones, Ronald SCS Pay Band 1 31 December 2011 
			 Jones, Teresa Grace SCS Pay Band 1 31 October 2010 
			 Kershaw, Peter Simon SCS Pay Band 1 30 July 2011 
			 Kirk, David Cameron SCS Pay Band 1 6 May 2010 
			 Lerpiniere, Tracy Ann SCS Pay Band 1 3 April 2012 
			 Lloyd-White, Jonathan SCS Pay Band 1 1 May 2010 
			 Mace, Alan Christopher Hugh SCS Pay Band 2 1 January 2012 
			 MacMillan, Alexander James SCS Pay Band 1 1 April 2011 
			 Mansell, Roger SCS Pay Band 1 1 October 2011 
			 Manson, Ian Stuart SCS Pay Band 1 31 March 2012 
			 Mantell, Carl Nicholas SCS Pay Band 2 1 February 2012 
			 Marshall, Chris George SCS Pay Band 1 1 January 2010 
			 Mathers, Howard Leslie SCS Pay Band 1 30 June 2012 
			 McLay, James John SCS Pay Band 1 1 July 2010 
			 Morris, Grant SCS Pay Band 1 1 February 2011 
			 Neill, Martin SCS Pay Band 1 29 September 2012 
			 Neilson, John Stuart SCS Pay Band 2 1 May 2012 
			 Nicholl, Alan James Thomas SCS Pay Band 2 1 March 2012 
			 Northen, Peter David SCS Pay Band 1 1 August 2011 
			 O'Gorman, Mary Theresa Elizabeth SCS Pay Band 1 2 July 2011 
			 Olney, David Ian SCS Pay Band 2 1 June 2012 
			 Pearse, Andrew SCS Pay Band 1 2 November 2010 
			 Pedlingham, Mark Edward SCS Pay Band 2 29 September 2012 
			 Philip, Robin Matheson SCS Pay Band 1 31 March 2012 
			 Piper, Martyn Alan SCS Pay Band 1 2 July 2011 
			 Pitt-Brooke, John Stephen SCS Pay Band 2 1 April 2011 
			 Pollard, Stephen John SCS Pay Band 1 1 January 2011 
			 Price, Nigel Frank SCS Pay Band 1 1 August 2012 
			 Quigley, John James SCS Pay Band 1 1 May 2012 
			 Rampling, Diane SCS Pay Band 1 31 March 2012 
			 Reynolds, David Keith Akaster SCS Pay Band 1 1 March 2012 
			 Roberts, Matthew Laurence SCS Pay Band 1 31 March 2012 
			 Sankey, Peter James SCS Pay Band 2 1 June 2012 
			 Saunders, Frances SCS Pay Band 3 2 March 2012 
			 Scholefield, Susan Margaret SCS Pay Band 3 31 March 2012 
		
	
	
		
			 Shoobridge, Veronica Mary SCS Pay Band 1 2 November 2011 
			 Sinden, Anthony William SCS Pay Band 1 31 March 2012 
			 Smith, Heather Frances SCS Pay Band 1 3 April 2012 
			 Smith, Keith SCS Pay Band 1 21 July 2012 
			 Stapley, Michael SCS Pay Band 1 31 March 2012 
			 Stein, Paul Jonathan SCS Pay Band 3 1 January 2010 
			 Strong, Trevor Nigel SCS Pay Band 1 1 March 2012 
			 Style, Charles Rodney SCS Pay Band 2 1 April 2012 
			 Sutton, Philip SCS Pay Band 2 1 April 2011 
			 Swift, Jon SCS Pay Band 1 1 November 2011 
			 Taylor, Timothy Edwin SCS Pay Band 1 2 July 2011 
			 Titchmarsh, Anthony Charles SCS Pay Band 1 31 March 2012 
			 Trout, Christopher David SCS Pay Band 1 1 October 2010 
			 Twitchin, David John SCS Pay Band 1 3 April 2012 
			 Tyler, Andrew Oliver SCS Pay Band 3 1 July 2011 
			 Tyte, Roger SCS Pay Band 31 January 2012 
			 Welland, Sir Mark Edward Permanent Secretary 1 May 2012 
			 Wilson, Paul SCS Pay Band 1 14 August 2011 
			 Woodison, Anthony John SCS Pay Band 1 3 April 2012 
			 Woolley, Trevor Adrian SCS Pay Band 3 30 June 2012 
			 Wright, Christopher John G3/Under Secretary 31 March 2010

Sir Tim Laurence

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times each Minister in his Department had meetings with Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence since May 2012; and how many such meetings were held in his Department's headquarters.

Mark Francois: holding answer 2 November 2012
	No Ministry of Defence Ministers have had meetings with Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence since May 2012.

United Arab Emirates

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what issues were covered by the defence industrial partnership agreed during the Prime Minister's visit to the United Arab Emirates; what is the nature of the partnership; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 12 November 2012
	The core aim of the Prime Minister's visit was to further our long standing friendship with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We are partners across a broad range of areas and are committed to maintaining tolerant, open and outward-looking societies. Both countries have created environments in which investments thrive and have invested significantly in each other's economies.
	During the visit, we agreed to develop our partnership by deepening our defence ties by: continuing to develop joint plans for the security of the UAE and wider Gulf region; establishing a defence industrial partnership centred on Typhoon and involving close collaboration between leading British and Emirate industrial companies and by growing UAE investment in the UK and UK investment in the UAE in a wide range of sectors including aerospace, communications and service ventures.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  where MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Aerial Vehicles will be based in the UK after the end of operations in Afghanistan;
	(2)  if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of creating the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle command centre at RAF Waddington for the MR-9 Reaper Unmanned Aerial Vehicle;
	(3)  what Unmanned Aerial Vehicles will be able to be commanded from RAF Waddington.

Andrew Robathan: XIII Squadron stood up on 26 October 2012 at RAF Waddington as a Reaper remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) squadron that will utilise ground control stations to fly reaper RPAS deployed to Afghanistan. Reaper is a deployed capability and no decisions have yet been taken on whether to retain the capability once combat operations end in Afghanistan.
	For the total cost of the current Reaper programme, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, my hon. Friend the Member for Ludlow (Mr Dunne), on 31 October 2012, Official Report, column 297W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Gillingham and Rainham (Rehman Chishti). I am withholding costs specific to the Reaper operational facility at RAF Waddington as their disclosure would prejudice commercial interests and international relations.

Vacancies

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's vacancy rate was in 2011-12; and what vacancy rate has been assumed for 2012-13.

Mark Francois: Data for vacancy rates within the Ministry of Defence is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Veterans

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to ensure that employers in the private sector are aware of the skills and experience that former military personnel have to offer.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence (MOD), through the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), routinely and proactively approaches employers across the UK in all sectors of the economy private, public, voluntary and community, and relationships have been forged, by the network of specialist regional employment and training managers who belong to the CTP. The CTP is a partnering arrangement between MOD and Right Management Limited that delivers resettlement provision to service leavers from 11 regional centres across the UK and one in Germany.
	The CTP works with hundreds of major employers including Siemens, Tesco, British Gas, Transport for London, BT Openreach, Jaguar-Land Rover, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Google making industry aware of the skills and experience which former military personnel have to offer and, crucially, successfully assisting with their recruitment needs. The CTP hosts a number of events including employment fairs, industry awareness days and select company briefings, all of which bring together national and regional employers searching for high calibre employees. This awareness is backed by regular advertising and media engagement.
	Efforts in this area continue to expand. The UK wide Talent Retention Scheme (TRS) has been set up by the advanced manufacturing and engineering sector to connect suitably qualified service leavers with growing businesses across the UK. TRS is sponsored by leading companies such as Nissan, Airbus, Rolls- Royce, Siemens, EDF and BAE Systems and supported by Government, trade unions and trade associations.
	Lord Ashcroft has recently been appointed as a Veterans Transition Special Representative. In this role he will provide the MOD with valuable advice on how we can further support those leaving the armed forces.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many written parliamentary questions to his Department received a substantive answer (a) within five working days, (b) between six and 10 working days and (c) after more than 10 working days in the last 12 months for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of written parliamentary questions to his Department received holding responses in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Mark Francois: Between 1 November 2011 and 31 October 2012, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) substantially answered 991, or 50%, written parliamentary questions within five working days. Between six and 10 working days 725 or 36% received a substantive answer. There were 231 or 12% answered after more than 10 working days.
	All named day questions not answered on the day named receive a holding reply.
	There were 21 or 1% of ordinary written questions within this period which received an 'I will write response'.
	The MOD strives hard to answer all written parliamentary questions on time. Where this is not possible, we aim to provide a substantive reply at the earliest opportunity.
	The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary questions performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the current Session. Statistics relating to performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary Session are available on the parliamentary website which can be found at:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_ Monitoring_PQs.pdf

TREASURY

Capital Gains Tax

Paul Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish (a) the calculations used to reach the figure of £0.6 billion for gains accrued but unrealised at death for capital gains tax in the tax expenditures and the structural relief statistics for 2011-12 and (b) the analysis of the effects of charging capital gains tax on accrued gains that are currently unrealised at death, including an impact assessment on groups as defined by (i) different income levels and (ii) different levels of asset-based wealth.

David Gauke: The information is as follows.
	(a) The estimated cost of the capital gains tax exemptions for gains accrued but unrealised at death is based on a database of inheritance tax data which shows the assets held by estates at death. The published Capital Gains National Statistics tables are used to estimate the gains as a proportion of the asset values, which are then applied to the assets held by the estates. Assumptions on the main capital gains tax reliefs are then applied to the data before estimating the tax due.
	(b) (i) An assessment of the impact on different income groups is not available.
	(ii) Broad estimates of the number of estates that would have a capital gains tax liability on accrued gains unrealised at death by net estate size are given in the following table.
	
		
			 Net estate size Number of estates 
			 £0 to £300,000 13,000 
			 £300,000 to £500,000 10,000 
			 £500,000 to £1 million 10,000 
			 Over £1 million 5,000

Child Benefit

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff his Department has recruited to work on the child benefit income tax charge.

David Gauke: No new staff have been recruited to work on the high income child benefit charge.

Credit Unions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to announce a decision on changes to the interest rate cap on credit union loans.

Sajid Javid: The Department for Work and Pensions carried out a feasibility study to examine options for the modernisation and expansion of credit unions earlier this year. The study showed that at present credit unions struggle to meet the operating costs of making small loans to people on lower incomes. It suggested that an increase in the APR credit unions are allowed to charge, from 2% to 3% per calendar month, would make a positive contribution towards credit unions achieving self sufficiency. Any increase to the interest rate that credit unions charge will be subject to consultation which the Government will publish shortly.

Diesel Fuel

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the loss of revenue associated with the use of red diesel in the haulage industry.

Sajid Javid: The revenue loss associated with the use of red diesel in the haulage industry is not available. The loss of revenue from diesel is estimated and published every year by the HMRC in 'Measuring Tax Gaps'. For 2010-11 the loss was estimated to be £150 million for Great Britain.
	The loss of revenue from diesel covers all illicit activity, including laundered red diesel used in road transport, and covers all types of road transport. Therefore the loss of revenue from haulage industry is only a proportion of the estimated £150 million.

Diesel Fuel

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department has taken to notify traffic commissioners of the unlawful use of red diesel in the haulage industry.

Sajid Javid: An Information Sharing Protocol was set up between HMRC, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency and the Traffic Commissioners in March 2011. This sets out the arrangements for the disclosure of information by HMRC about certain road hauliers who have evaded excise duty (including the illegal use of red diesel).
	HMRC has recently been reviewing the Protocol, and considering how the flow of information could be improved, while respecting HMRC's legal obligations. HMRC aims to be in a position to announce changes shortly.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in paying compensation to Equitable Life policyholders; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: The Scheme intends to publish a progress report in January 2013 on the volumes and values of payments made.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made on whether the level of duty levied on methanol fuel is preventing its introduction into the UK;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential effect of introducing a duty reduction on the introduction of new viable green fuels;
	(3)  if he will consider removing the requirement that liquid fuels used in place of petrol and diesel in a road vehicle attract the same level of excise duty on a volume basis.

Sajid Javid: Government support for green fuels, such as biofuels, is provided through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, which has a sharp sustainability focus. Introducing new duty differentials could be costly. In addition, any reduced rate of duty for methanol would require the UK to apply for a derogation from the EU Energy Products Directive, with no guarantee of success.
	The Chancellor keeps all taxes under review and takes into account all relevant fiscal and economic impacts when taking decisions.

Individual Savings Accounts

Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will make it his policy to increase the limit of individual savings accounts held in cash;
	(2)  if he will consider extending the uses to which individual savings accounts may be used so as to provide for care in later life.

Sajid Javid: This Government have increased the limits for individual savings accounts (ISAs) annually since in 2010. The ISA limits that will apply for 2013-14 will be confirmed in due course.
	ISAs are flexible savings vehicles and the Government does not impose any restrictions on how money invested in an ISA can be spent. It is therefore already possible for savers to use an ISA to plan for care in later life, should they choose to do so.

Pay

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2012, Official Report, column 83W, on pay, what the annual salary is of the (a) Head of Assurance of Infrastructure UK and (b) Chief Executive of the Debt Management Office.

Sajid Javid: For the 2011-12 financial year, the salary of the Head of Assurance at IUK was in the range of £185,000 to £189,999.
	For the 2011-12 financial year, the salary of the Chief Executive of the Debt Management Office's salary was in the range £140,000 to £145,000.
	Details of both are published in the HM Treasury organogram which can be found at:
	http://data.gov.uk/dataset/staff-organograms-and-pay-hm-treasury-group

Pensioners: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many pensioners there were in each income quintile in Northern Ireland in the latest period for which figures are available.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 12 November 2012
	These are devolved matters which are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Minister for Social Development.

Public Bodies

Michael Connarty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on pricing risk for Government departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies undertaking commercial activities.

Danny Alexander: The treatment of risk is set out in the Green Book Pages 28 to 34 in the main body of the guidance and Annex 4 pages 79 to 88 are also relevant. The Green Book is available on HM Treasury's website.

Public Bodies

Michael Connarty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on Government Departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies having insurance in place to cover the commercial activities and services they undertake.

Danny Alexander: It is long standing practice that central Government organisations should not normally buy commercial insurance to protect against risk. “Managing Public Money” explains this in annex 4.5. In rare circumstances it can make sense to purchase commercial insurance. Any decision to take this approach should rest on an assessment of value for money.

Public Expenditure

Margaret Curran: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what Barnett consequentials have been received by the Scottish Government since 2007; and for what reason those funds were transferred.

Danny Alexander: Information relating to changes to the Scottish budget since the 2007 spending review can be found via the following links:
	HM Treasury website—Scotland DEL since the comprehensive spending review2007
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/scotland_del_changes.xls
	Scotland Office and Office of the Advocate General Annual for Scotland: Annual Report 2011, Annex 2
	http://www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/scotlandoffice/files/SO%20Annual%20Report%202011.pdf
	Scotland Office and Office of the Advocate General Annual for Scotland: Report and Accounts 2011-12, Table 2
	http://www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/scotlandoffice/files/ScotlandOfficeAnnualReport2011-12.pdf

Science: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the oral answer of the Chief Secretary to the Treasury of 6 November 2012, Official Report, column 719, on affordable housing, to which science projects the £600 million funding will be allocated.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 12 November 2012
	BIS were allocated an entitlement of up to £600 million from the proceeds of the 4G spectrum auction to spend on science and innovation. The auction is due to take place in early 2013.

Taxation: Energy

William Cash: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK is eligible to take up the mineralogical processes exemption under the Taxation of Energy Products and Electricity Directive (2003/96/EC); and whether that exemption would apply to (a) the ceramics, cement, lime, glass and metallurgical sectors and (b) any other sectors;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on whether other EU countries have taken up the mineralogical processes exemption under the Taxation of Energy Products and Electricity Directive (2003/96/EC); and to what extent, and in respect of which sectors, they have done so in each case;
	(3)  if the Government will as a matter of urgency accelerate its implementation of any take up by the UK of the mineralogical processes exemption under the Taxation of Energy Products and Electricity Directive (2003/96/EC);
	(4)  with reference to the Climate Change Levy, if he will ensure that full tax relief will be extend to all fuels used for mineralogical transformation.

Sajid Javid: Council Directive 96/2003/EC (the “Energy Taxation Directive”) lays down mandatory requirements for member states to tax energy products and electricity. Under article 2.4 of the Directive, taxation of certain processes is not mandatory including some in the mineralogical sector. Ministers have committed to review the UK's taxation of these processes.
	This review will consider how other member states tax these processes and if a further relief is appropriate, how it should be structured (for example, which processes should be covered). The cost and administrative processes involved with any exemption would therefore depend on its scope and coverage. These considerations will need to be supported by solid data which we expect will take time to acquire. In the current economic climate, any proposals for tax reliefs will, of course, have to be considered very carefully. The Government will continue to work closely with industry to develop this analysis and build an evidence base.

Taxation: United Arab Emirates

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to promote tax co-operation and information sharing with the United Arab Emirates.

David Gauke: Following discussions some years ago, officials from HM Revenue and Customs have recently re-engaged with the United Arab Emirates about a comprehensive agreement. The UAE are considering the UK’s proposals and we expect to hear from them shortly.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many companies to date have participated in the scheme to encourage small firms to take on a young apprentice.

Matthew Hancock: holding answer 22 October 2012
	Data are not available on the number of firms, by size of the firm employing apprentices. Data from the published 2009 National Employer Skills Survey (NESS) gives the proportion of establishments offering apprenticeships by age group and size of establishment.
	http://www.ukces.org.uk/assets/ukces/docs/publications/evidence-report-23-ness-main-report-2009.pdf
	Provisional data for the 2011/12 academic year show that there were 282,700 apprenticeship starts by those aged 16 to 24.
	Information on the number of apprenticeship starts is published in a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 11 October 2012:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current/

Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 17 October 2012, Official Report, column 290W, on apprentices, how many apprentices currently employed by his Department are aged (a) 16-18, (b) 19-24 and (c) 25 and over.

Jo Swinson: holding answer 7 November 2012
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills currently has two apprentices aged 19 to 24 and 36 apprentices aged 25 and over.

Apprentices

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many under-19 apprenticeship starts there were in (a) 2011 and (b) 2010; and for what reason there was any change in the two figures.

Matthew Hancock: The following table shows the number of Apprenticeship programme starts by those aged under 19. Final data are shown for the 2009/10 and 2010/11 academic year and provisional data are shown for the 2011/12 academic year.
	Provisional data for the 2011/12 academic year provide an early view of performance and will change as further data returns are received from further education colleges and providers. They should not be directly compared with final year data from previous years. Figures for 2011/12 will be finalised in January 2013.
	Funding for programme-led apprenticeships—where the apprentice was not employed—was withdrawn from April 2011. So 2011/12 is the first (academic) year in which there are no programme-led Apprenticeships to bulk out the numbers of under 19 apprenticeship starts.
	
		
			 Apprenticeship programme starts for those aged under 19,2009/10 to 2011/12 (provisional) 
			  2009/10 (final) 2010/11 (final) 2011/12 (provisional) 
			 Under 19 116,800 131,700 126,300 
			 Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Age is calculated based on age at start of programme. 3. Provisional data for 2011/12 should not be directly compared with data for earlier years. Source: Individualised Learner Record

Apprentices: Barrow in Furness

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeship starts there have been in each sector for each gender in Barrow and Furness constituency in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2010-11.

Matthew Hancock: Table 1 shows the number of apprenticeship programme starts in Barrow and Furness parliamentary constituency by sector subject area and gender. Final data are shown for the 2010/11 academic year and provisional data are shown for the 2011/12 academic year.
	Provisional data for the 2011/12 academic year provide an early view of performance and will change as further data returns are received from further education colleges and providers. They should not be directly compared with final year data from previous years. Figures for 2011/12 will be finalised in January 2013.
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts in Barrow and Furness parliamentary constituency by sector subject area and gender, 2010/11 to 2011/12 (provisional) 
			  2010/11 (final) 2011/12 (provisional) 
			 Sector subject area Female Male Total Female Male Total 
			 Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care — 10 10 — 10 10 
			 Arts, Media and Publishing — — — — — — 
			 Business, Administration and Law 290 70 360 240 80 320 
			 Construction, Planning and the Built Environment — 70 70 — 70 70 
			 Education and Training — — — — — — 
			 Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies 20 150 160 20 160 180 
			 Health, Public Services and Care 270 40 310 210 30 230 
			 Information and Communication Technology 20 10 20 20 — 20 
			 Leisure, Travel and Tourism 20 20 40 20 20 40 
			 Retail and Commercial Enterprise 150 100 260 120 80 190 
			 Science and Mathematics — — — — — — 
			 Unknown — — — — — — 
			 Total 770 470 1,230 620 450 1,060 
			 Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. '—' indicates a value of less than 10. 2. Geographic breakdowns are based upon the home postcode of the learner. 3. Figures are based on the geographic boundaries as of May 2010. 4. Provisional data for 2011/12 should not be directly compared with data for earlier years. Source: Individualised Learner Record. 
		
	
	Information on the number of apprenticeship starts by geography is published in a supplementary table to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 11 October 2012:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statistical firstrelease/sfr_current
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statistical firstrelease/sfr_supplementary_tables/Apprenticeship_sfr_supplementary _tables/

British Antarctic Survey

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the Minister for Science's statement to the House on 2 November 2012, whether the Cabinet Office has given any instruction to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to disband the British Antarctic Survey Review Group; and whether (a) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, (b) the Ministry of Defence and (c) other departments were consulted in advance of any such instruction.

David Willetts: No direction has been received from the Cabinet Office on the future of the British Antarctic Survey Review Group.

British Antarctic Survey

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to reinstate the senior management of the British Antarctic Survey.

David Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has no role in research council appointments at this level. It is a matter for the chief executive of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

British Antarctic Survey

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent decisions he has made on the future of the British Antarctic Survey.

David Willetts: My written ministerial statement of 2 November 2012, Official Report, column 25WS reported the decision of the Council of the Natural Environment Research Council not to proceed with the merger of the British Antarctic Survey and the National Oceanography Centre.

British Antarctic Survey

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects a new permanent director of the British Antarctic Survey will be approved.

David Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has no role in research council appointments at this level. It is the responsibility of the Natural Environment Research Council.

British Antarctic Survey

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent correspondence he has received from the Director of the British Antarctic Survey.

David Willetts: No correspondence has been received from the interim Director of the British Antarctic Survey.

Business: Loans

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect sustained low interest rates are having on the ability of small- and medium-sized enterprises to access loans.

Michael Fallon: The Government and Bank of England have acted decisively to ensure that the effective interest rates faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are affordable.
	In July, the Bank of England and HM Treasury launched the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) to boost lending to households and businesses. Under the scheme banks and building societies are able to borrow from the Bank of England, giving them strong incentives to boost lending by lowering interest rates and increasing the availability of business loans and mortgages. As a result of the scheme, we have already seen a number of participating banks launch new and discounted SME loan products.
	However, the Government acknowledges that price is not the only issue affecting SMEs' ability to access finance. The Government's Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme is also in place to enable viable SMEs which lack the necessary collateral for a commercial loan to access Government backed credit.
	The quarterly SME Finance Monitor published independently by BDRC Continental shows that over the last year the majority of SMEs which applied for bank finance were successful.

Consumers: Credit

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how his Department plans to tighten regulations on the consumer credit industry.

Jo Swinson: The Government has announced its intention to transfer responsibility for regulating consumer credit from the Office of Fair Trading to the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA), subject to the design of a proportionate regime. The FCA will have a wider range of tools to tackle consumer detriment, including the ability to make binding rules on firms and their activities, stronger controls on market entrants, and powers to secure redress for consumers where firms cause detriment. Replacing the current statutory basis of consumer credit regulation with a rules-based approach under FSMA will provide for a more flexible, responsive and proportionate regime that will strengthen protections for consumers while placing a proportionate regulatory burden on business. The transfer is due to take effect from April 2014.

Crossrail Line

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions and correspondence Ministers and officials in his Department have had with (a) Ministers or officials in other government Departments, (b) construction companies, (c) trades unions, (d) Crossrail Ltd and (e) other parties on reports that blacklists (i) were and (ii) are being used by contractors completing construction work on public contracts relating to the delivery of Crossrail.

Jo Swinson: holding answer 12 November 2012
	There have been no discussions or correspondence between Ministers or officials from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and other Government Departments, construction companies, trade unions, Crossrail or other parties on allegations of blacklists being used by contractors working on public contracts relating to the delivery of Crossrail.
	The previous administration introduced regulations in 2010 to outlaw blacklisting.
	I am unaware of any evidence that these regulations are not doing their job, but if any evidence comes to light I would be interested to see it.

Employment

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people are employed by small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK.

Michael Fallon: There were an estimated 14.1 million people employed by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, at the start of 2012. This compares to 13.3 million people employed by SMEs at the start of 2010. The definition of an SME used to answer this question, is a private sector business with fewer than 250 employees(1).
	(1) Estimates were taken from the BIS National Statistics publication ‘Business Population Estimates for the UK and the Regions 2012’.

Employment Agencies: Performing Arts

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps Employment Agency Standards has taken to consult the public on fees for agencies in the modelling and entertainment sectors since 2006.

Jo Swinson: In 2007, the Government announced a consultation on amending the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, including the regulations that applied to the entertainment and modelling sub-sector. The response to the consultation resulted in the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations 2007.
	In 2009, the Government announced a further consultation on amending the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, including the regulations that applied to the entertainment and modelling sub-sector. The response to the consultation resulted in the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations 2010.
	During the consultations in 2007 and 2009/10 the Government sought views from a wide group of stakeholders including trade associations, trade unions, businesses and individuals, regarding changes to the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003.

Employment Agencies: Performing Arts

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many entertainment agencies have been successfully prosecuted for breaching the cooling-off period for workers joining their agency.

Jo Swinson: There have been no prosecutions, under the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, relating to entertainment agencies not providing a cooling off period before charging fees to a worker for entry into a publication.

Filton Airfield

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the future of the aviation manufacturing base Filton Airfield.

Michael Fallon: Following BAE Systems’ decision to close Filton airfield, the Department reviewed the impact with other manufacturers. They have confirmed that the closure will not have a material impact on their business operations given the availability of Bristol airport and good road links. They have also confirmed that the loss of the airfield will not affect their manufacturing commitment to either Filton or the UK. Our overall assessment is that we do not believe the airfield's closure will have any material negative impact on aviation manufacturing in Filton.

Local Enterprise Partnerships: EU Grants and Loans

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether local enterprise partnerships will have a role in bidding for, allocating and managing funds from the European Regional Development Fund.

Michael Fallon: For the 2014 to 2020 funding period, we are consulting with stakeholders on how to maximise the impact of the European Regional Development Fund in supporting growth and jobs. No decisions have as yet been made on the specific role local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) will play in delivering this.
	For the 2007 to 2013 funding period, LEPs currently play a strategic advisory role in the management of the European Regional Development Fund through their membership of the local management committees.

Mature Students

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 12 July 2012, Official Report, column 35WS, on advanced learning loans, what progress he has made on implementing additional support for older learners who are uncertain about taking out a loan.

Matthew Hancock: In May, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) published research on learner attitudes to loans in further education. This identified that learners aged 40 and above were less likely to feel positive about loans. Following the commitment in the ministerial statement of 12 July, specific guidance on providing advice to this group will be made available to National Careers Service advisers before Christmas 2012, supported by information on loans available through the National Careers Service website. The guidance for advisers will reflect the findings in the BIS research and subsequent additional focus group work with older learners; and will also cover possible sources of financial advice.
	This work builds on the range of information materials for providers on 24+ Advanced Learning Loans published at the start of October on the Student Loans Company's Practitioner website; and the information for learners about 24+ Advanced Learning Loans published on:
	https://www.gov.uk/

Overseas Trade: Uganda

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the level of (a) imports from and (b) exports to Uganda was in each of the last five years.

Michael Fallon: The value of exports and imports of goods, to and from Uganda, in the last five years is given in the following table. The data are sourced from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Overseas Trade Statistics database and are publicly available on the UK Trade Info website:
	www.uktradeinfo.com
	
		
			 £ million 
			  UK imports of goods from Uganda UK exports of goods to Uganda 
			 2011 11.2 62.7 
			 2010 11.7 56.6 
			 2009 11.5 49.7 
			 2008 18.9 49.8 
			 2007 16.4 46.6 
			 Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics

Self-employed: Kent

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of people were self-employed in (a) Gillingham and Rainham constituency and (b) Medway in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question.
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
	Table 1 shows the number and proportion of self-employed persons resident in Medway Local Authority and Gillingham and Rainham constituency for the 12 month periods ending in June 2008 to 2012 taken from the APS. This is the latest available estimate, for which figures are available.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS and Annual LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in table 1.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Proportions(1) of people aged 16 to 64 years who are self-employed resident in Medway local authority and Gillingham and Rainham constituency 
			  Medway Gillingham and Rainham 
			 Twelve months ending: Level(1) (thousand) Percentage Level(1) (thousand) Percentage 
			 June 2008 15 8.8 — 9.9 
			 June 2009 13 7.8 — 8.0 
			 June 2010 14 8.3 — 7.2 
			 June 2011 16 9.2 — 8.9 
		
	
	
		
			 June 2012 ***16 9.4 ****— 8.9 
			 ‘—’ = Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes. (1) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 ≤ CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 ≤ CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 ≤ CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ≥ 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Population Survey

Working Hours: EU Law

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the financial effects of the (a) European Working Time Directive and (b) Temporary Agency Workers Directive on UK businesses.

Jo Swinson: At the time the Working Time Regulations were amended in 2002, it was assessed that the annual costs of these regulations was £2.6 billion per year. The Temporary Agency Workers Directive impact assessment was completed in 2010 and the cost was estimated to be a £40 million one-off transition and an increased annual cost of £1,898 million. The impact assessment, is available at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/employment-matters/docs/10-582-agency-workers-directive-impact-assessment
	Government continually monitors the performance of the labour market using a large variety of information sources, such as the Labour Force Survey:
	http://www.esds.ac.uk/government/lfs/
	and industry specific research.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Overseas Aid

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what consideration her Department has given to the inclusion of people's access to security and justice in the post-2015 development framework.

Justine Greening: Ahead of the UN High Level Panel Meeting on the post-2015 development goals on 1 November, the Prime Minister hosted a day of seminars for panel members on issues that might feature in a new framework. These included sessions on Access to Justice and Personal Security.

Uganda

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many officials in her Department are stationed in Uganda.

Lynne Featherstone: The Department for International Development does not publish the numbers of staff in each country where we operate, as this may represent a security risk, especially to our staff serving in hostile environments or fragile states.

Uganda

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the implications for UK aid to Uganda of the recent allegations of misappropriation of international aid to that country; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions she has had with her Ugandan counterpart on UK aid provision to Uganda.

Lynne Featherstone: The Department for International Development (DFID) suspended disbursements to the Ugandan Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) in August this year when we became aware of fraud allegations in that office. DFID has set up a team of independent auditors to conduct a detailed forensic investigation into aid to the OPM, and we have instructed the OPM to freeze UK aid held in their accounts with the exception of essential payments to two important programmes in the north, which is the poorest area of the country.
	The audit is ongoing. We take any allegations of corruption extremely seriously and if UK money has been misused expect repayment, and administrative and criminal sanctions. The UK is working with the highest levels of the Government of Uganda (GoU) on this issue. UK officials in Uganda have met with the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister and the Auditor General to discuss these issues and raise our concerns.

HEALTH

Abortion

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many letters he has received from (a) the public, (b) hon. Members and (c) members of the House of Lords on abortion time limits in the last three months; how many and what proportion of such letters (i) supported and (ii) opposed reducing the abortion time limit; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: A search of the Department's ministerial correspondence database has identified 188 items of correspondence received since 1 August 2012 about abortion time limits. Of those, 161 were from the public, 27 were from hon. Members and none were from members of the House of Lords. Of the correspondence from the public, 126 supported reducing the abortion time limit, 33 were opposed to any reduction and two did not specify. Of the correspondence from hon. Members, 22 supported reducing the time limit, three were opposed to the reduction and two did not specify. These are minimum figures which represent correspondence received by the Department's ministerial correspondence unit only.
	Two additional representations have been received through other, one which did not specific support or otherwise for a reduction in the time limit, and one which did not support a reduction.

Addictions

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people with (a) gambling, (b) alcohol and (c) drug addiction in each region in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: Estimates are not available for each of the last five years and could be made only at disproportionate cost.
	Problem gambling is the responsibility of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Data on problem gambling, levels is included in the “British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2010”. A copy has been placed in the Library.
	Data on alcohol dependence, is included in the adult psychiatric morbidity survey, “Adult Psychiatric Morbidity in England, 2007” (APMS), which was published in January 2009. A copy has been placed in the Library.
	Estimates of the number of individuals who are dependent on opiates and/or crack cocaine are given in the following table. Data on the number of individuals dependent on other drugs are not collected.
	
		
			 Region Estimated number of opiate and/or crack cocaine users by region in 2009-10 
			 North East 18,605 
			 North West 50,343 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 37,620 
			 East Midlands 25,772 
			 West Midlands 34,368 
			 East of England 24,158 
			 London 51,445 
			 South West 27,694 
			 South East 36,145 
			 England 306,150 
			 Source: ‘a summary of key findings’ report and the ‘National And Regional Estimates Of The Prevalence Of Opiate And/Or Crack Cocaine Use 2009-10: A Summary Of Key Findings’ report, published by the. National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse.

Alcoholic Drinks: Consumption

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the mean alcohol consumption per week in units for people aged 16 and over in each region in each year since 2008.

Anna Soubry: Such an estimate could be made only at disproportionate cost.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by the NHS treating people admitted to hospital as a result of alcohol consumption in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 to date.

Anna Soubry: We estimate the cost to the national health service at around £3.5 billion per year in 2009-10. This was published as part of our written evidence to the Health Select Committee's recent inquiry on the Government's Alcohol Strategy.
	Costs for 2011-12 could be estimated only at disproportionate cost.

Ambulance Services: Standards

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average response time was for ambulances in (a) England and (b) each region in each year since 2008.

Daniel Poulter: Average ambulance response times are not collected centrally by the Department.
	Data for response times by ambulance service and category of call in England and each region are displayed in the following tables for each year from 2008-12. The yearly data relates to the 12 month period between 1 April of one year and 31 March of the following year.
	Category B was abolished in April 2011, during the 2011-12 reporting period. As a result, incidents occurring which were previously category B have been re-classified as category A or C. It is therefore not possible to make direct comparisons between data for 2011-12 and earlier years.
	Category C calls are those which are neither life threatening nor serious. The setting and monitoring of Category C call performance is locally determined. Consequently, data on Category C calls is not collected centrally by the Department.
	
		
			 Emergency incidents: Response times by ambulance service and category of call 
			 2011-12 
			  Category A calls 
			 Ambulance service Response within eight minutes (percentage of total incidents with response) Response within 19 minutes (percentage) 
			 England 76.2 96.8 
			 North East 77.9 98.5 
			 North West 76.7 95.5 
			 Yorkshire 75.7 97.9 
			 East Midlands 75.2 92.3 
			 West Midlands 76.3 98.0 
			 East of England 75.4 94.9 
			 London 75.7 99.1 
			 South East Coast 77.6 98.1 
			 South Central 75.9 95.3 
			 Great Western 75.6 96.3 
			 South Western 76.1 95.8 
			 Isle of Wight 76.2 97.9 
			 Source: KA34 
		
	
	
		
			 2010-11 
			  Category A calls Category B calls 
			 Ambulance service Response within eight minutes (Percentage) Response within 19 minutes (Percentage) Response within 19 minutes (Percentage) 
			 England 74.9 96.7 91.2 
			 North East 75.8 98.5 93.5 
			 North West 73.6 95.6 87.0 
			 Yorkshire 73.7 97.4 93.7 
			 East Midlands 72.4 93.5 88.3 
			 West Midlands 76.8 98.0 95.0 
		
	
	
		
			 East of England 74.6 95.6 93.1 
			 London 75.1 99.0 87.2 
			 South East Coast 76.0 97.7 94.3 
			 South Central 77.5 95.3 91.4 
			 Great Western 74.3 95.1 91.7 
			 South Western 76.9 96.1 95.6 
			 Isle of Wight 77.3 98.2 97.8 
			 Source: KA34 
		
	
	
		
			 2009-10 
			  Category A calls Category B calls 
			 Ambulance service Response within eight minutes (Percentage) Response within 19 minutes (Percentage) Response within 19 minutes (Percentage) 
			 England 74.3 96.8 91.0 
			 North East 75.4 98.8 94.0 
			 North West 73.0 95.4 85.9 
			 Yorkshire 70.8 96.7 91.1 
			 East Midlands 73.7 96.5 94.5 
			 West Midlands 72.5 97.5 94.1 
			 East of England 75.7 96.0 94.0 
			 London 75.5 98.7 86.4 
			 South East Coast 76.3 98.2 93.4 
			 South Central 74.8 92.7 88.3 
			 Great Western 75.0 95.3 90.8 
			 South Western 78.3 96.5 95.8 
			 Isle of Wight 77.2 97.1 96.7 
			 Source: KA34 
		
	
	
		
			 2008-09 
			  Category A calls Category B calls 
			 Ambulance service Response within eight minutes (Percentage) Response within 19 minutes (Percentage) Response within 19 minutes (Percentage) 
			 England 74.3 96.9 91.0 
			 North East 75.7 99.0 95.6 
			 North West 74.3 96.5 87.6 
			 Yorkshire 69.4 96.1 90.6 
			 East Midlands 76.0 97.3 95.0 
			 West Midlands 75.4 98.0 95.4 
			 East of England 74.6 95.8 93.3 
			 London 75.5 98.6 84.5 
			 South East Coast 75.2 96.9 94.6 
			 South Central 72.6 94.5 88.0 
			 Great Western 68.4 94.0 87.4 
			 South Western 78.0 95.8 94.2 
			 Isle of Wight 77.0 96.4 96.2 
			 (1) From 2008-09 the starting point for response time measurement was changed, data relating to eight and 19 minute responses from 2008-09 are not comparable with previous years. Source: KA34 
		
	
	
		
			 2007-08 
			  Category A calls Category B calls 
			 Ambulance service Response within eight minutes (Percentage) Response within nineteen minutes (Percentage) Response within, nineteen minutes (Percentage) 
			 England 77.1 97.1 91.5 
			 North East 78.5 99.1 95.3 
		
	
	
		
			 North West 75.6 97.6 91.0 
			 Yorkshire 73.5 96.1 92.4 
			 East Midlands 79.5 97.6 94.2 
			 West Midlands(1) 80.9 98.6 96.0 
			 East of England(2) 75.1 95.7 92.7 
			 London 78.9 98.1 84.4 
			 South East Coast 77.2 97.6 95.2 
			 South Central 75.1 94.8 91.0 
			 Great Western 72.2 93.1 85.7 
			 South Western 78.9 95.5 93.7 
			 Isle of Wight 81.7 99.1 98.3 
			 (1) On the 1 October 2007 Staffordshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust merged with West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust. For comparability, data for these two trusts have been merged for all previous years. Data Quality: (2) Subsequent to publishing 2007-08 data, East of England carried out an internal audit, the result of this was a reduction of 193 incidents responded to within eight minutes reducing their response rates within eight minutes from 75.1% to 75.0%. The impact on England level data is negligible (15 December 2008). Source: KA34

Asthma: Children

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many incidents of childhood asthma have been diagnosed in each of the last 10 years.

Daniel Poulter: Information is not available in the form requested. Data on the incidence of the diagnosis of asthma are not collected by age.

Blood Diseases

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2012, Official Report, column 758W, on blood: diseases, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the document, Start Smart then Focus.

Daniel Poulter: A recent survey on implementation of ‘Start Smart Then Focus’ carried out on behalf of the Department's Advisory Committee on Healthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance is due to be published next year. Responses were received from 78 acute hospital trusts. Of those who had assessed their progress against the guidance, between 65 and 75% said it had led to a reduction in the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics and between 77 and 85% in a reduction of inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics.

Blood Diseases

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2012, Official Report, column 758W, on blood: diseases, what plans his Department has to record the number of deaths associated with sepsis.

Daniel Poulter: Data on the number of deaths caused by sepsis are not collected centrally. However, data on the total number of deaths from septicaemia for England and Wales for the period 2007-11 are shown in the following table and also available from the National Office for Statistics.
	
		
			 Deaths from septicaemia(1) in England and Wales, 2007-11 
			  Total 
			 2007 2,373 
			 2008 2,217 
			 2009 2,280 
			 2010 2,183 
			 2011 2,158 
			 (1) These data do not include babies under 28 days old or deaths from septicaemia relating to pregnancy, childbirth or the puerperium (first six weeks following childbirth). Source: Office for National Statistics

Blood Diseases

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2012, Official Report, column 758W, on blood: diseases, by what means his Department ascertains that health care professionals are routinely trained to diagnose and treat sepsis.

Daniel Poulter: Frontline health care professionals are routinely trained to recognise the early signs of sepsis. The Department supports the advice provided in the existing international guidance on the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis. In addition, the Department published ‘Start Smart Then Focus’ in 2011 which is aimed at health care professional and recommends that if there is evidence of bacterial infection, local guidelines should be used to initiate prompt effective antibiotic treatment within one hour of diagnosis (or as soon as possible) in patients with life threatening infections. This guidance also recommends auditing the time to treatment to ensure effective local performance.

Breastfeeding

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on supporting breastfeeding in financial year 2011-12; how much his Department has allocated to support breastfeeding in financial year 2012-13; what recent steps he has taken to promote breastfeeding; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: It is not possible to disaggregate the amount of expenditure specifically on breastfeeding from the statutory accounting data collected by the Department.
	The Department is committed to supporting breastfeeding through the Healthy Child Programme, as set out in the White Paper, ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our strategy for public health in England’. The Department has also made the challenging commitment to have an extra 4,200 health visitors by 2015 who can provide support to women who want to breastfeed but may find it difficult.
	Support and information is currently available to health professionals and parents through NHS Choices, the NHS Information Service for Parents, the National Breastfeeding Helpline, the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative and local peer support programmes. Nationally, support is provided through the national breastfeeding helpline.

Cannabis

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether Bedrocan and Bediol forms of cannabis are available (a) under prescription and (b) on the NHS.

Norman Lamb: Neither Bedrocan nor Bediol are licensed as medicines for use in the United Kingdom.
	Clinicians can prescribe any product, including any unlicensed product, subject to their primary care organisation agreeing funding, if they feel it is clinically appropriate for an individual patient after discussing the potential risks and taking into account the patient's medical history. In these circumstances, the clinician is expected to retain clinical responsibility for the patient while prescribing the medicine.

Children's Play

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure children in England are able to play actively outdoors, in streets and other open public spaces as part of the Government's plans for taking forward the Olympic legacy.

Anna Soubry: Play is a very important part of ensuring that all children get enough physical activity in their daily lives and helping to make sure that we “inspire a generation”. From April 2013 we are putting local authorities in charge of improving the public's health and supporting this with a ring-fenced grant. Local authorities will be in a unique position to bring together and plan leisure, sport and public health services so every child has the opportunity to play.

Clostridium

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clostridium difficile infections there were in English hospitals in (a) 2010 and (b) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: For the period April 2009 to March 2010 and April 2011 to March 2012, the rate of trust apportioned clostridium difficile fell by 41% in English NHS acute trusts. The data on trust apportioned clostridium difficile infections for the period requested are shown in the following table for patients aged two years and over reported by English NHS acute trusts.
	
		
			 Financial year Number 
			 2009-10(1) 13,220 
			 2011-12(2) 7,670 
			 (1) April 2009 to March 2010. (2) April 2011 to March 2012.

Consultants

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which management consultancy companies are employed by his Department; and how many staff from each such consultancy are working for his Department.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not employ management consultant companies. It contracts for the delivery of consultancy services from companies and does not keep central records of the number nor the identities of individual management consultants or staff used to deliver services for each contract to the Department.

Continuing Care

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the level of need to qualify for NHS continuing health care identified by the decisions support tool differs from that specified in section 7 of the NHS Continuing Healthcare (Responsibilities) Directions 2007.

Norman Lamb: The NHS Continuing Healthcare (Responsibilities) Directions 2007 were superseded by the NHS Continuing Healthcare (Responsibilities) Directions 2009.
	The purpose of the Decision Support Tool is to support practitioners in the application of the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-Funded Nursing Care and to inform consistent decision-making. This approach builds up a detailed analysis of needs and provides the evidence to inform the eligibility decision.
	An individual will be eligible for NHS continuing health care where it can be said that their ‘primary need is a health need’. The decision as to whether a person has a primary health need takes into account the legal limits of local authority provision. Paragraph 2, section 7 of the NHS Continuing Healthcare (Responsibilities) Directions 2009 sets out this test.

Continuing Care

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements his Department has in place to ensure that primary care trusts meet their statutory obligations under section 2 of the NHS Continuing Healthcare Responsibilities.

Norman Lamb: The National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care was published in 2007 and revised in 2009. A copy has already been placed in the Library. It sets out the main responsibilities for the National Health Service and local authorities as provided for in legislation and the principles and processes for assessment and decision-making with regards to eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare, to ensure national consistency. Local primary care trusts processes should accordingly, align with the processes set out in legislation and which are reflected in the National Framework. Strategic health authorities will support the transition of NHS Continuing Healthcare to the new system from 1 April 2013.
	The Department collects information on the numbers of individuals in receipt of NHS Continuing Healthcare on a quarterly basis. This information can be obtained on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/09/continuing-healthcare-spreadsheet/

Dental Services: Legal Costs

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the costs to his Department of legal disputes over dental contracts since May 2010.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not hold any information on legal disputes over dental contracts. Dental contracts are made between primary care trusts and dental service providers. Any legal costs incurred over a dental contract dispute are a matter for those involved.

Drugs: Children

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of children taking (a) heroin and (b) cocaine.

Anna Soubry: Data on drug use by young people, aged 11 to 15, is published in the annual National Health Service Information Centre report, ‘Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England.’ The most recently published data on the proportion of young people who had taken heroin or cocaine in the last year cover the years 2001-11 and are given in the following table:
	
		
			 Proportion of pupils who have taken individual drugs in the last year, 2001-11(1, 2, 3) 
			 Percentage 
			 Types of drugs taken in the last year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010(3) 2011(3) 
			 Cocaine 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.9 1.6 1.8 1.7 1.2 0.9 0.8 
			 Heroin 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.4 
			 (1 )Because of changes to the questionnaire in 2001,estimates of the prevalence of drug use from surveys in this series carried out between 1998 and 2000 are not comparable with those shown here. Data from the earlier surveys have consequently been omitted from this table; they are available in the 2006 report: Fuller E (ed) Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2006. (2) Estimates are shown to one decimal place because of generally low prevalence rates. (3) The data in 2010 and 2011 were weighted (see section 1.2.4). All bases shown in this table are unweighted. 2011 weighted bases are shown in Table 2.7c.

Drugs: Misuse

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether any of the 29,855 people recorded by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse's statistical report for 2011-12 as having overcome their dependency are deceased; and if so, how many.

Anna Soubry: The information requested is not collected centrally. The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System collates information on individuals only while they are in treatment and at the time when they leave treatment. Regardless of the cause of death, someone who dies while in treatment cannot be recorded as successfully completing treatment.
	The Expert Group on Recovery Oriented Drug Treatment recommended aftercare post-treatment and regular follow-up in order to minimise the risk of relapse. Research led by the Medical Research Council Biostatistics Unit which was recently published in Addiction found an elevated risk of death following discharge from hospital treatment for drug dependence in Scotland in the period 1996-2006 (Merrall, E. L C, Bird, S. M. and Hutchinson, S. J. (2012), ‘A record-linkage study of drug-related death and suicide after hospital discharge among drug-treatment clients in Scotland, 1996-2006. Addiction’).

East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will assess the reasons for the performance of the East of England Ambulance Service being below the national average for ambulance services in England;
	(2)  what steps he plans to take to improve the performance of the East of England Ambulance Service; and when he plans to take such steps;
	(3)  what steps he plans to take to ensure the performance of the East of England Ambulance Service is not affected by the need to make financial savings.

Anna Soubry: Ambulance trust performance is assessed against three standards relating to response times. Each trust must ensure it performs above all three standards over the year. The latest published data covers September 2012 and shows East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust performing appropriately against one out of the three standards. The Department monitors ambulance trust performance closely, and discusses with the relevant strategic health authority what further action is needed to improve performance where a trust is operating below standard. However, it is for ambulance trusts and their commissioners to plan, develop and improve services.
	Ambulance services are commissioned by primary care trusts, which are responsible for ensuring that appropriate services are provided to their populations, wherever they live. In addition, each ambulance trust is required to plan to provide appropriate resources to meet local demand. The hon. Member may therefore wish to approach East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust for information about the plans it has in place to improve performance while making financial savings.

Eculizumab

Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the recent advice from the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services on the funding of Eculizumab in England; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Ministers are not yet in a position to make a decision on advice from the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services but expect to do so shortly.

Electromagnetic Fields: Health Hazards

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether his Department has undertaken any studies on how many people suffer from electromagnetic sensitivity and how severely they are affected by that condition;
	(2)  whether his Department recognises that electromagnetic pollution has an effect on a section of the public; and if the Department will consider issuing advice on combating such effects and related health issues.

Anna Soubry: The Department is aware that some people report a range of symptoms which they attribute to hypersensitivity to electromagnetic fields. The Government has funded two studies on symptoms associated with exposure to electromagnetic fields and further information can be found at the following links:
	www.mthr.org.uk/research_projects/hypersensitivity symptoms.htm
	www.mthr.org.uk/research_projects/mthr_funded_projects/wessely.htm
	The independent Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation, which advises the Health Protection Agency (HPA) on science and research priorities, has published a review of the evidence on risks from radiofrequency radiation, including worldwide studies on electrohypersensitivity, and this can be found at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1317133826368
	The Department accepts that the symptoms ascribed to electromagnetic radiation cause real distress to the people concerned. Unfortunately few evaluated studies are available on the treatment options available, although some limited information is available from a review published by the HPA in 2005, which can be found at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/Publications/Radiation/HPARPDSeriesReports/HpaRpd010/
	Nevertheless we will consider what further steps might be taken to provide helpful information and guidance to health care professionals and to the general public.

Female Genital Mutilation

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will consider including a mandatory data collection question about female genital mutilation on GP registration forms.

Anna Soubry: We have no plans to introduce a mandatory data collection question about female genital mutilation (FGM) on general practitioner (GP) registration forms.
	There are several reasons why it would not be appropriate to ask a woman or girl if they have been subject to FGM on the registration form. Doing this would breach patient confidentiality since the forms are read and used by general practice staff for registration rather than clinical purposes. In addition, it is highly unlikely that those registering at a new practice would wish to reveal something this sensitive on an initial registration form; it can take a long time for a woman to build up the confidence in a health care practitioner to tell them that she has been mutilated. We would not want to deter people from registering with a GP by asking such a personal question at the time. In the case of girls, it is unlikely that parents registering their children would reveal this in any case since it is illegal to subject a child to FGM and declaring this would implicate the parents as perpetrators which may deter them from registering their daughters with a GP.

Food: Hygiene

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason mobile food vendors do not have to display their food hygiene ratings certificate.

Anna Soubry: The food hygiene rating scheme is a Food Standards Agency (FSA)/local authority partnership initiative for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Ratings for all businesses covered by the scheme, including mobile food traders, are published on the FSA's website at
	www.food.gov.uk/ratings
	and available via mobile phone apps. Legislation would be required for mandatory display of ratings at food outlets or units but all business that are rated are given a sticker and certificate showing their rating and encouraged to display this where consumers can easily see them.
	The Welsh Assembly is currently considering a Bill that will require mandatory display of food hygiene ratings for businesses operating in Wales.

Genito-urinary Medicine

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department has allocated to the sexual health sector in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: Funding for local sexual health services forms part of the general allocations made by the Department to primary care trusts and is not identified separately. However, estimated gross spend on HIV, including expenditure by primary care trusts, is separately identified and set out in the following table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2007-08 543 
			 2008-09 654 
			 2009-10 763 
			 2010-11 886 
		
	
	The Department provided additional funding for contraception through the Improving Access to Contraception Fund. This programme ran from 2008-09 to 2010-11, and funds were distributed via strategic health authorities. The total amount distributed as part of this programme was £33,062,000.
	Details of other funding provided centrally by the Department is in the following table.
	
		
			 £000 
			 Organisation 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Terrence Higgins Trust 2,250 2,250 2,400 2,400 2,400 
			 Brook 104 100 260 329 228 
			 Family Planning Association 1,150 1,149 1,329 1,376 1,380 
		
	
	
		
			 African HIV Policy Network 760 850 1,000 1,000 1,000 
			 Black Health Agency 150 150 0 0 0 
			 NAM Publications 50 50 50 50 0 
			 British HIV Association 40 40 40 30 0 
		
	
	Further expenditure on contracts and grants may have been made by the Department but this could be provided only at disproportionate cost as spending on the sexual health sector is not separately identified in the Department's financial systems.

Health Education: Sex

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce (a) unplanned pregnancies and (b) sexually transmitted diseases; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The Government's framework for improving sexual health in England, including reducing unwanted and unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, will be set out in the sexual health policy document, which we plan to publish by the end of this year.

Health Services

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with specialised commissioning groups on implementation of Clinical Priorities Advisory Group recommendations.

Anna Soubry: This is a matter for the national health service.
	Ministers have had no discussions with Specialised Commissioning Groups (SCGs) on the recommendations of the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group on treatments for cystic fibrosis. SCGs are aiming to develop a consistent approach for patients.

Health: Finance

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what representations he has received on the ring-fencing of public health budgets;
	(2)  which local authorities have requested that public health budgets being transferred to them from primary care trusts should not be ring-fenced;
	(3)  what plans he has to remove ring-fencing from public health budgets being transferred to local authorities from primary care trusts.

Anna Soubry: The White Paper ‘Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS’, published in July 2010, announced the transfer of public health responsibilities from primary care trusts to local authorities, to be funded by a ring-fenced public health budget. This remains the policy position. The Department consulted on the funding and commissioning routes for public health between December 2010 and March 2011, and has subsequently engaged widely with local government and other interests on the new funding arrangements for public health. A wide range of views have been expressed by different organisations, both for and against the ring-fence.
	Decisions on whether to maintain or remove the ring-fence on the public health allocation will be taken in due course.

Hospital Wards: Closures

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which hospitals in each parliamentary constituency ward closures are planned.

Daniel Poulter: This information is not collected centrally.

Hospitals: Admissions

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were admitted to hospital with (a) gunshot and (b) knife wounds in (i) the London borough of Hackney, (ii) London and (iii) England in (A) each year from 2005 to 2011 and (B) 2012 to date.

Anna Soubry: The number of finished admission episodes with an external cause code of injuries relating to sharp objects or firearms is shown in the following table. These data are for residents in England, London Strategic Health Authority (SHA) and City and Hackney Primary Care Trust (PCT) for 2004-05 to 2011-12 and 2012-13 April to June provisional data. We have provided the data related to assault by a sharp object, as well as data for firearm wounds.
	It should be noted that the vast majority of people who attend hospital due to assault by a sharp object (including knives), are treated without being admitted to hospital—there are no accurate data on the number of people who attend hospital for treatment for this type of assault but are not admitted.
	
		
			 Number of finished admission episodes(1) where the external cause code was related to sharp objects or firearm wounds(2), for residents of England, London SHA and City and Hackney Teaching PCT(3), 2004-05 to 2011-12 and 2012-13 April to June provisional data(4): Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector— 
			 Residents of England 
			  Sharp object (assault) Firearm wound (assault) Sharp object wound (other) Firearm wound (other) 
			 2004-05 4,946 207 9,544 930 
			 2005-06 5,306 220 10,847 992 
		
	
	
		
			 2006-07 5,532 221 11,283 1,058 
			 2007-08 5,060 215 11,592 934 
			 2008-09 4,811 197 12,128 903 
			 2009-10 4,551 206 12,912 874 
			 2010-11 4,534 153 13,231 897 
			 2011-12 4,340 135 13,169 798 
			 2012-13 (April to June) provisional data 937 26 3,298 234 
		
	
	
		
			 Residents of London SHA(5) 
			  Sharp object (assault) Firearm wound (assault) Sharp object wound (other) Firearm wound (other) 
			 2004-05 1,252 52 1,196 137 
			 2005-06 1,381 76 1,380 178 
			 2006-07 1,395 52 1,417 157 
			 2007-08 1,267 64 1,447 146 
			 2008-09 1,050 54 1,381. 137 
			 2009-10 1,214 81 1,599 156 
			 2010-11 1,262 69 1,568 145 
			 2011-12 1,220 45 1,450 121 
			 2012-13 (April to June) provisional data 231 * 370 31 
		
	
	
		
			 Residents of City and Hackney Teaching PCT(5) 
			  Sharp object (assault) Firearm wound (assault) Sharp object wound (other) Firearm wound (other) 
			 2004-05 70 * 37 7 
			 2005-06 79 * 19 14 
			 2006-07 79 * 32 16 
			 2007-08 77 6 31 12 
			 2008-09 56 * 19 8 
			 2009-10 69 9 47 * 
			 2010-11 78 8 31 8 
			 2011-12 57 * . 45 7 
		
	
	
		
			 2012-13 (April to June) provisional data 12 0 7 * 
			 (1 )Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (2) Cause code Sharp object wound: W26 Contact with knife, sword or dagger X78 Intentional self-harm by sharp object X99 Assault by sharp object Y28 Contact with sharp object, undetermined intent The above four codes identifies any sharp object, and therefore includes (but is not limited to knife. Firearm wounds: W32 Handgun discharge W33 Rifle, shotgun and larger firearm discharge W34 Discharge from other and unspecified firearms X72 Intentional self-harm by handgun discharge X73 Intentional self-harm by rifle, shotgun and larger firearm discharge X74 Intentional self-harm by other and unspecified firearm discharge X93 Assault by handgun discharge X94 Assault by rifle, shotgun and larger firearm discharge X95 Assault by other and unspecified firearm discharge Y22 Handgun discharge, undetermined intent Y23 Rifle, shotgun and larger firearm discharge, undetermined intent Y24 Other and unspecified firearm discharge, undetermined intent Y35.0 Legal intervention involving firearm discharge Y36.4 War operations involving firearm discharge and other forms of conventional warfare (3) SHA/PCT of residence The strategic health authority (SHA) or primary care trust (PCT) containing the patient's normal home address. This does not necessarily reflect where the patient was treated as they may have travelled to another SHA/PCT for treatment. (4) Provisional data The data are provisional and may be incomplete or contain errors for which no adjustments have yet been made. Counts produced from provisional data are likely to be lower than those generated for the same period in the final dataset. It is also probable that clinical data are not complete which may in particular affect the last two months of any given period. There may also be errors due to coding inconsistencies that have not yet been investigated and corrected. (5) NHS reorganisation In July 2006, the NHS reorganised SHA and PCT in England from 28 SHAs into 10, and from 303 PCTs into 152. As a result data from 2006-07 onwards are not directly comparable with previous years. We mapped the current London SHA to the following SHAs prior to 2006-07: North Central London, North East London, North West London, South East London and South West London. Lambeth PCT remained the same during the PCT changes. Notes: 1. Data quality Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and PCTs in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data, and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 2. Small numbers To protect patient confidentiality/ figures between one and five have been replaced with “*” (an asterisk). Where it was still possible to identify numbers from the total an additional number (the next smallest) has been, replaced. 3. Methodology Change A change in methodology in 2011-12 resulted in an increase in the number of records where the PCT or SHA of residence was unknown. From 2006-07 to 2010-11 the current PCT and SHA of residence fields were populated from the recorded patient postcode. In order to improve data completeness; if the postcode was unknown the PCT7 SHA and country of residence were populated from the PCT/SHA value supplied by the provider. From April 2011-12 onwards if the patient postcode is unknown the PCT; SHA and country of residence are listed as unknown. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care

Hospitals: Parking

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospitals charge for parking in England; and which hospitals have increased charges for parking since May 2010.

Daniel Poulter: The information is not available in the precise format requested.
	Data are collected by the Department from the national health service about parking charges relating to financial year periods.
	Based on the latest data for 2011-12, there were 377 hospitals in England that charged for parking. A list of these hospitals and their associated average charge per hour for patient/visitor parking in both 2011-12 and 2010-11 has been placed in the Library. This list will identify those hospitals which increased charges for parking from 2010-11 to 2011- 12.
	In some cases there may not be a direct correlation between the data reported by the NHS for 2010-11 and 2011-12 due to organisational boundary changes which have resulted in a change of organisation for some hospitals. Also, in 2010-11 some foundation trusts chose not to provide their data because it was non-mandatory for them to report their parking charges. In 2011-12, it was made mandatory for all NHS organisations, including foundation trusts, to provide the data.
	All the data provided has been supplied by the NHS and has not been amended centrally. The accuracy and completeness of the information is the responsibility of the provider organisation.

Human Embryos

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department last undertook a review of the scientific evidence on when human life begins that drew on (a) UK and (b) international research; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: A court case in 2002 about emergency contraception ruled that pregnancy commences when a fertilised egg is implanted in the womb. The Government has undertaken no further review of when pregnancy or life begins, but we do monitor research and evidence on these important issues.

Influenza

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will review the success rate and mechanism for the call-back arrangements for influenza jabs for the under 65s;
	(2)  if he will review the rate of uptake of the influenza vaccine for special groups such as carers and increase the publicity campaign to reach those groups.

Anna Soubry: Influenza vaccine uptake rates for a number of different groups, such as those aged under 65 with a clinical condition and pregnant women, are monitored throughout the influenza season. It is particularly important that carers are vaccinated against influenza as it offers protection to those for whom they care.
	The Department has provided guidance to the national health service on the influenza immunisation programme, including in relation to robust call and recall arrangements. However, implementation of such arrangements locally is a matter for primary care trusts and general practitioner (GP) practices to determine and there are no current plans to review this mechanism for call back.
	The Department launched an influenza advertising campaign on 5 November. It is aimed at increasing immunisation uptake in groups who are at risk of serious illness associated with or arising from influenza because of existing clinical conditions; and is intended to support local campaigns.

Kidney Disease

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the cost to the NHS of polycystic kidney disease;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to combat polycystic kidney disease;
	(3)  what steps he is taking to raise awareness of polycystic kidney disease.

Anna Soubry: Polycystic kidney disease is a genetic disease, which is not preventable. I have recently asked officials in the Department's renal policy team to raise the issues around polycystic kidney disease with the appropriate agencies and consider what further actions can be taken to raise awareness of the disease and the need for guidelines around diagnosis and management.
	During the recent adjournment debate (HC-Debate, 6 November 2012, C838) I welcomed the suggestion of a meeting with the leading charity in this area and understand that they are also due to meet with the National Clinical Director for Kidney Disease.
	We do not currently collate centrally the direct numbers or costs associated with polycystic kidney disease to the national health service. We are currently reviewing data collection in this area.

Lactose: Allergies

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the number of people with lactose intolerance.

Anna Soubry: The Food Standards Agency advise that in the United Kingdom, lactose intolerance is more prevalent in adults than in children. About 5% of the UK adult population are lactose intolerant, and the prevalence among some ethnic groups is higher than this.

Malaria

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been recorded by the NHS as having developed malaria following an overseas visit in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: The data on recorded cases of malaria in United Kingdom residents who have travelled abroad is found in the following table and has been provided by the Health Protection Agency.
	
		
			 Malaria cases in UK residents who have travelled abroad 
			  Travelled abroad from UK 
			 2007 715 
			 2008 687 
			 2009 722 
			 2010 838 
			 2011 765

Mental Health Services: East of England

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy that additional funding should be allocated to the NHS in Norfolk and Suffolk for the purpose of hiring private mental health beds in case of need.

Norman Lamb: Allocations for national health service services are currently made by the Department to primary care trusts (PCTs). Each PCT decides how it then allocates resources locally.
	The hon. Member may wish to approach the PCTs in Norfolk and Suffolk for details of how adequate provision of mental health beds for their population has been ensured.
	From 2013 resources will be allocated to clinical commissioning groups and will be a matter for the NHS Commissioning Board.

Methamphetamine

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to highlight the dangers of methamphetamine use;
	(2)  what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of treating users of methamphetamine.

Anna Soubry: FRANK, the Government's drugs information and advice service, includes information on the risks of the use of methamphetamine. The Department obtains expert medical advice to ensure that the information on FRANK is as accurate and up to date as possible.
	Information on the effects of methamphetamine use, as well as other illicit and licit substances, is contained in the document published by the Department in August 2011: ‘A summary of the health harms of drugs: A guide to the risks and harms associated with substance misuse’. A copy of this document has already been placed in the Library.
	Data on the cost of treating users of individual drugs, such as methamphetamine, are not centrally collected.

NHS: Staff

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors and (b) managers were employed by the NHS in England in May (a) 2010 and (b) 2012.

Daniel Poulter: The monthly workforce statistics published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that there were 97,729 full-time equivalent doctors and 42,267 full-time equivalent managers employed by the national health service in England in May 2010. In May 2012 there were 101,205 doctors, an increase of 3,476 (3.6%) and 35,596 managers, a decrease of 6,671 (15.8%) employed by the NHS in England.

Obesity

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  with reference to his report entitled Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A call to action on obesity in England, published in October 2011, what progress has been made on the level of excess weight in children and excess weight averaged across all adults by 2020;
	(2)  what proportion of (a) men and (b) women are considered (i) obese and (ii) overweight.

Anna Soubry: Figures are not yet available to indicate what progress has been made on the levels of excess weight in children and adults since the publication of ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A call to action on obesity in England’.
	Data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity are published annually by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. The latest data available are for 2010 and are provided in the following table. Data for 2011 are due to be published in December.
	
		
			 2010 
			 Percentage 
			  Overweight Obese 
			 Men 41.6 26.2 
			 Women 31.7 26.1 
			 Source: Health Survey for England—2010: Trend tables, Health and Social Care Information Centre. 
		
	
	A copy of ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A call to action on obesity in England’ has already been placed in the Library.

Patients: Hygiene

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent by the NHS on educating patients in hospitals to wash their hands regularly and correctly in the latest period for which figures are available.

Daniel Poulter: National health service organisations are now responsible for deciding how to spend their budgets on local activity on hand hygiene. Information on how much these organisations have spent on educating patients on hand hygiene is not held centrally.
	The Department funded the National Patient Safety Agency to provide an initiative called “Cleanyourhands”, which ran from 2009 until 2011. The “Cleanyourhands” campaign was a national initiative in England and Wales, which aimed to improve the hand hygiene of health care staff and help reduce the spread of preventable health care associated infections. The cost of the campaign for both patients and the workforce in health care setting is broken down in total by years as follows:
	
		
			  Cost of campaign (£) 
			 2009-10 693,000 
			 2010-11 488,000

Perinatal Mortality

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) financial assistance and (b) other support is available from the NHS for mothers who deliver a stillborn baby.

Daniel Poulter: The national health service does not provide financial assistance to those who have experienced a stillbirth, but many hospitals have care and support mechanisms in place to support mothers and families who experience stillbirth.
	NHS maternity care providers need to ensure they have comprehensive, culturally sensitive, multidisciplinary policies, services and facilities for the care and support of women and their families who have experienced stillbirth. This includes a dedicated bereavement coordinator, usually a specialist midwife, providing information relating to birth and death registration, counselling services and signposting to other local support.
	Many hospitals arrange a regular service of remembrance for all babies who die in pregnancy, at birth or in infancy. All hospitals will offer to arrange a funeral, burial or cremation free of charge.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people qualify for free prescriptions.

Norman Lamb: In England, 94.6% of prescription items were not charged for at the point of dispensing in the community in 2011. The majority of these items are prescribed to people who are exempt from prescription charges, but it also includes items dispensed to patients possessing a prescription pre-payment certificate.
	There are no official consistent data on all the groups of people who are eligible for exemption from prescription charges. However, we estimate the number of eligible people in England to be in the region of 32 million to 36 million.

Psychiatry

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the case for introducing a mandatory licensing scheme for psychotherapists.

Daniel Poulter: The Government's view is that any assessment of the case for mandatory statutory regulation of psychotherapists, will only take place in light of the experience of assured voluntary registration.
	The Health and Social Care Act 2012 provides for the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence, which is to be renamed the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA), to quality assure voluntary registers of unregulated health care professionals and health care workers in the United Kingdom, social care workers in England, and certain students.
	This will allow employers and people who use services to assure themselves that the practitioners they appoint or contract with meet appropriate standards of education, conduct and competence, and apply high ethical standards to their work, without placing an undue regulatory burden on practitioners or taxpayers. Only those registers, which meet the standards set by the PSA, will be able to be accredited.
	A number of organisations including ones relevant to psychotherapy have already expressed their interest to the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence in becoming accredited voluntary registers.

Respiratory System

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there will be a dedicated national clinical lead for respiratory disease in the NHS.

Anna Soubry: It is for the NHS Commissioning Board to determine how it will structure national clinical leadership and advice within the Board. Further announcements on staffing structures within the Board are to be made shortly.

Samaritans

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department has provided to the Samaritans in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: The Department can confirm that funding of £17,328 was provided to the Samaritans in 2011-12 for the Suicide Prevention Call to Action project. No funding was provided in the years 2008-09 to 2010-11.
	No funding has been provided to the Samaritans in the current financial year (2012-13). However additional funding could be allocated in the remaining months of the financial year.

Tuberculosis

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which local authority areas have the 20 highest incidences of tuberculosis; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Three-year average tuberculosis case report, rates (2009-11) and proportion of culture confirmed cases (2011) by selected local authority 
			 Local authority Average number of cases 2009-11 
			 Newham 329 
			 Brent 303 
			 Hounslow 183 
			 Ealing 225 
			 Leicester UA 201 
			 Harrow 143 
			 Tower Hamlets 145 
			 Slough UA 72 
			 Redbridge 149 
			 Haringey 123 
			 Greenwich 117 
			 Luton UA 99 
			 Waltham Forest 110 
			 Hillingdon 126 
			 Hackney 99 
			 Blackburn with Darwen UA 60 
			 Manchester 207 
			 Islington 79 
			 Birmingham 410 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 66 
			 Notes: 1. Numbers may vary substantially year on year just by chance because the numbers per year are often small in local authorities. For this reason, three-year average numbers are provided. Small numbers can result in deductive disclosure. 2. The local authorities presented have the 20 highest average incidence rates (2009 to 2011). 3. Rates calculated using middle year ONS mid-year population estimates (2010). 4. Data as at June 2012. Source: Enhanced Tuberculosis Surveillance. Office for National Statistics mid-year population estimates.

Viagra: Side Effects

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many men have been admitted to hospital as a result of taking Sildenafil in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: This information is not recorded centrally by the national health service. However, reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are collected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Commission for Human Medicines through the spontaneous reporting scheme, the Yellow Card Scheme. The scheme collects suspected ADR reports from the whole United Kingdom in relation to all medicines, including those which are prescription only, over-the-counter or available from general retail sales outlets, and medicines which are unlicensed.
	On a Yellow Card the reporter has the option to select whether the adverse reaction resulted in hospitalisation or prolonged hospitalisation of the patient. The following table provides a breakdown of all UK spontaneous suspected ADR reports received in the past five years associated with the drug substance sildenafil where the patient gender has been provided as male (or is not specified), and the reporter has stated that the suspected side effect resulted in hospitalisation or prolonged, hospitalisation of the patient.
	
		
			  Number of reports 
			 Year of receipt Male patients Gender not specified 
			 2007 5 o 
			 2008 6 0 
			 2009 1 1 
			 2010 1 0 
			 2011 2 0 
			 Total 15 1 
		
	
	It should be noted that information relating to hospitalisation is not mandatory and is therefore not always captured in an ADR report. This means that the number provided does not correspond to the total number of men admitted to hospital as a result of taking sildenafil in the last five years, only those reported to the MHRA.
	It should also be noted that health care professionals are asked to report suspected adverse reactions on a voluntary basis and the submission of a report does not mean that the reaction cited was definitely caused by the medicine. Many factors have to be taken into account in assessing causal relationships including temporal association, the possible contribution of concomitant medication and the underlying disease being treated.
	The number of reports received via the Yellow Card scheme does not directly equate to the number of people who suffer adverse reactions to medicines in the general population as this scheme is associated with an unknown level of under-reporting.

Window Blinds: Accidents

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children under the age of three 
	(1)  in the London Borough of Havering have died as a result of becoming entangled in window blind cords since 2008;
	(2)  have died as a result of becoming entangled in window blind cords since 2008.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking (a) how many children under the age of three in the London Borough of Havering have died as a result of becoming entangled in window blind cords since 2008 and (b) how many children under the age of three have died as a result of becoming entangled in window blind cords since 2008. (PQ128320 and PQ128321).
	The table below shows the number of children under the age of three years who are currently registered as having died as a result of being entangled in window blind cords in England and Wales, for each year between 2008 and 2011 (latest year available). There were no deaths involving window blind cords in the London Borough of Havering(1).
	
		
			 Number of children under the age of three years who died as a result of becoming entangled in window blind cords, England and Wales, 2008-11(1, 2, 3) 
			 England and Wales Number of children 
			 2008 2 
			 2009 3 
			 2010 4 
			 2011 2 
			 (1 )Other accidental hanging and strangulation was defined using the International Classification of Diseases Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code W74, then searching the text accompanying the death certificate to determine if cause of death involved being entangled in window blind cords. (2 )Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. (3 )Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. Source: Office for National Statistics

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Service Agencies

Michael Connarty: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what his policy is on executive agencies competing against private companies for (a) public and (b) private sector contracts;
	(2)  what his policy is on executive agencies competing against UK private sector companies for overseas contracts;
	(3)  if he will publish the rules and procedures in place to stop executive agencies using information gained during the performance of statutory functions that would give them a commercial advantage when bidding for commercial contracts.

Chloe Smith: As set out in the Open Public Services White Paper, the Government believes that public services should be delivered by a diverse range of providers from the public, private and voluntary sectors, as well as by new organisations such as mutuals. In some instances, this could result in Executive Agencies competing in the market for domestic and overseas contracts. Any Executive Agency bidding for contracts will need to abide by the principles set out in Managing Public Money, as well as its obligations under procurement and competition law, including not using information inappropriately in order to gain a commercial advantage.

Death

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when the Office for National Statistics (ONS) plans to publish its analyses on registration delays for each grouping of causes-of-death in ONS's full short-cause list; and if the ONS will present its analysis per short-cause for different age-groups at death for the purpose of monitoring and reducing premature mortality.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question.
	A short guidance paper on the Impact of Registration Delays on Mortality Statistics in 2011 was published alongside the annual Mortality Statistics: Deaths registered in England and Wales (Series DR), 2011 on the 6 November 2012 and is available here:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/health-and-life-events/impact-of-registration-delays-on-mortality-statistics--2011.html
	Figures presented include the median registration period for the ONS short list of cause of death codes for all deaths registered in England and Wales in 2011. Figures are not presented by age group.
	The number of deaths registered in England and Wales each year by sex, age, cause, marital status and place of death are published annually and are available here:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html?definition=tcm%3A77-27475

Employment: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in (a) Scotland and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudon constituency, who were included in the numbers of employed in the most recent Labour Market Statistics, were participants in the Work programme.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question.
	The requested information is not available.
	The ONS collects information on people participating in the various kinds of government-supported training and employment programmes via the quarterly Labour Force Survey, which is the source used for the most recent Labour Market Statistics. However, estimates for Scotland and for areas within Scotland are not sufficiently reliable due to the relatively small sample size involved.

Justice and Security Bill (HL)

Jesse Norman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what representations he has received relating to Part 2 of the Justice and Security Bill [Lords].

Kenneth Clarke: I have been asked to reply 
	as the Minister responsible for the Justice and Security Bill which is shortly due to enter its Report stage in the other place.
	I, and my officials, have corresponded with and met a wide range of stakeholders who are interested in Part 2 of the Bill. This includes fellow parliamentarians, representatives of lobby groups, and a number of legal and intelligence experts. In addition to this, we have also received a number of publicly-available reports on the provisions contained in this part of the Bill. As with the responses received during the consultation on the Justice and Security Green Paper which preceded the Bill, I and my officials are considering all representations very carefully.
	I would be very happy to meet with the hon. Gentleman in order to discuss these representations further.

Military Medals Review

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent progress has been made by the Independent Medals Review Panel on rules governing the award of campaign medals, including a Bomber Command campaign medal; and whether the Panel will be submitting its final report before the end of 2012.

Julie Hilling: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  whether the second stage of the Military Medals Review will review the policy on medals in other countries;
	(2)  whether the second stage of the Military Medals Review will be concluded this autumn; and whether it will be published before the end of the year.

Nick Hurd: Sir John Holmes GCVO KBE CMG has made good progress on the further work he was invited to undertake to implement the recommendations set out in his Military Medals Review, published on 17 July 2012. This involves a number of stages, including a fresh look at the policy on the acceptance of medals from other countries.
	The first phase of the further work has now been completed, covering a number of Campaign Medals, and has been submitted for consideration.

Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what criteria his Department used to judge tenders for the last 100 contracts valued over £100,000.

Nick Hurd: As part of my Department's transparency drive, since January 2011 all contract opportunities with central Government with an estimated value of £10,000 or more (including the Invitation to Tender or Quote, which outline the evaluation criteria employed) have been published on the Contracts Finder website.

Sir Edward Heath

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 29 October 2012, Official Report, column 52W, on Sir Edward Heath, if he will publish a description of the contents for each of the 71 files and 67 extracts from the PREM 15 series that have been retained by the Cabinet Office.

Nick Hurd: holding answer 7 November 2012
	The material retained from the PREM 15 series is retained on security or other specified grounds as described in the “Access to public records' guidance published by The National Archives:
	http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/access-to-public-records.pdf
	It is not possible to provide more detailed descriptions of the retained material without incurring disproportionate costs.